Shelter workers / volunteers - you be the judge:

[lizbud]

I am so sorry you had this experience. I know you meant well & I'd be
heartbroken too if it happened with a cat that I "knew". Rest in peace
little guy.

[shais_mom]

I am so sorry this happened Shari. Of course you didn't mean the cat harm. And just b/c you made a flippant comment doesn't mean you meant the cat to die or knew it was going to happen. You did what you thought was giving the cat a chance.
I have to wonder about the shelter's definition of feral if he came into your yard like that. He may have been sick when you took him, it is really hard to tell.
Our local Humane Society (run by a total wackjob btw) claims that no shelter regardless of what they say is ever no kill b/c animals come in sick and dying and they have no choice but to put them to sleep. And if the shelter claims that it is no kill - then they must send the animal to another shelter to be put to sleep. That's the wackjob's take on it of course.
hugs to you -
and don't be a stranger - I miss Sammy and Dudley!

[KitCat]

You are a good person and did everything you could. The shelter seems untrustworthy. If you were able to catch the cat, how wild could it be?

[jennielynn1970]

Could you find out if they do that to all ferals that are surrendered to them? And if so, could you also contact the trustees of that estate that made the endowment and let them know about their practices? If they have 3million in holdings to help keep the shelter running, and they want to keep the money from an endowment, they might want to give a little more time to ferals.

The one shelter I volunteer for has ferals in it. Many have been there for years. Not saying that you want any cat in a shelter for it's entire life, but they are safe from harm and have food, water and shelter.

[All Creatures Great And Small]

I plan to write a letter, definitely. The lady at the counter acted really oddly while we were waiting for another girl to come and take the kitty in back. I was making small talk, telling her how I had caught him and that he had been around the neighborhood for a while, and how pretty he was, that somebody would surely adopt him, etc. She said almost nothing other than to take my name and phone number. She didn't say a thing about their S.N.I.P program of spaying/neutering and then releasing ferals back where they came from, which I did not know they had. I would have done that in a heartbeat! I would have loved to see him around the neighborhood if he was neutered; he wouldn't be peeing on my house then and might be less interested in arguing with my kitties. They brag all about that on their website, how successful that program is in our county. She didn't tell me anything about their policies on ferals or what could be expected to happen to that poor kitty. I would think a compassionate shelter worker would tell me exactly what I would be subjecting the cat to, so I could make an informed decision.

I still don't think that cat was truly feral. He looked very healthy (other than the fleas), no battle scars or runny eyes, and he wasn't totally terrified of people - he would stop, sit down, and look at me when I called to him from a distance. If I were to walk toward him, then he would trot off. I think he was being regularly fed by someone around here because he always came over from the same driveway across the street (but not from that house, I asked the neighbor over there). A few days before we caught him, he came into the next door neighbor's backyard and just made himself at home about 10 feet from the fence. He layed on his side all comfy, took a little bath - it made me laugh because it seemed like he was taunting my kitties with the fact that he wasn't fenced in and was a free range kitty.

If they have a program where they can neuter ferals, they must be able to somehow approach them, touch them, and then anesthetize them, so I find it hard to believe he was so unmanageable he had to die.

[All Creatures Great And Small]

xx

[jazzcat]

Maybe there is more to it that they didn't tell you like other health issues. I hope you can get some answers because what they did certainly contradicts what they say.

I know you feel bad but it wasn't your fault. You looked for a no kill shelter to help this guy. I wonder why they didn't tell you about the SNIP program?