Posted on 11/04/2005 7:35:29 AM PST by green pastures
More than two months after Hurricane Katrina blew in, animals are still being found alive in New Orleans, pulled out of attics and from beneath flooring or off of the streets, where they’ve been surviving on sheer will and the kindness of strangers who leave food for them.
Some are little more than skin wrapped around bones. Starving, dehydrated and depressed, they still greet people trustingly, perhaps somehow recognizing that they represent salvation from their utterly bewildering circumstances.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
You know those toys are called; "G-d damn it's". Well it's true! :) What do you say when you step on them?
Exactly!
For the past thirty years a succession of red tabbies males [my "little red-headed boys"] have "found" me. They have been the most fabulous cats of my lifetime. I just lost my 20 year old.
Almost 2 years ago, I broke the pattern by taking in a little feral female patch tortoiseshell [at least she has patches of orange] because she was starving. She has gone from frantically wild to one of the sweetest, most affectionate indoor kitties I have ever seen.
As long as they have a loving home they will turn out well.
One of my happiest Hurricane Katrina stories is about a friend who had to evacuate, left her two cats inside, and had someone lined up to feed them. They got out. After 6 weeks when she was finally able to go home ... her two cats were waiting under the house for her. Many people have put food out for the animals. There have been sad stories but many people have done wonderful work with the animals and deserve credit for a job well done.
"Ooooh! Wook at da widdle kitties! Who's a pwetty kitty, den? Oooh are! Oooh are!
< /cuteness_based_brain_damage>"
LOL! Omigosh are they adorable! Those wide, innocent faces... Boy? Girl? What do they think of the dogs and vice versa?
A fellow FReeper gave my dogs a small tire. Between that and the flashy-balls, my floor is an accident waiting to happen. Also, the lab developed a habit of plopping her toys on the couch to encourage Mommy to play fetch. That's a little annoying if my face happens to be on the target area. Bedtime comes, toys must be confiscated.
The cat gets special consideration. We know those nighttime kitty play habits, right? In lieu of the dogs charging through the house after her, sounding like a herd of elephants, kitty gets to play with her toys in the safety of the tub at night, doorway blocked with a kiddie gate. This saves Mommy's sanity. What's left of it, that is. Can't tellya how many of those delicate plastic balls have ended with a crunch after she's managed to swat it out onto the floor.
Why did your friend have to evacuate?
Fortunately, her house did not flood but only blocks away there was flooding. It has been a terrible situation and it will be a long time before things get better
That said, Mississippi with Katrina and Southwest LA with Rita have been generally destroyed, as well.
We are thankful that her kitties survived.
I have to apologize--I was being sarcastic. It is late and every time I read about this stuff it makes me absolutely furious--to the point that I feel like my blood is boiling.
I just cannot understand or accept any explanation of why someone would evacuate without their animals. Leave them to possibly drown? How could anyone living in New Orleans or in any hurricane territory not have some plan of action? It's mot like it is a surprise. I really think that these people that left pets should be charged with animal cruelty. They seemed to think it was important enough to evacuate THEMSELVES.
,,, I've been waiting in the wings for my moment in the sunshine and here it is.
me too.... but, "it wudn't him..."
Oh, good Lord, what beautiful babies! You are so lucky. Kiss those itty bitty wittle noses for me, will ya?
Now beware of the infamous Urinary Tract infection. If she all of a sudden starts going potty anywhere other than her kitty box, it is probably that. Easily treated, but most people think their animal is just misbehaving.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
That song makes me extremely sad every time I hear it. But it's a good one.
While I would generally say that is true, some kitties just have personality problems. I have rescued every single kitty I have ever come across that needed it. But some can never recover mentally from the trauma, and some kitties are just meaner than snakes. But I love them all just the same.
My whole life I have been around orange toms. My Grpa loved kitties, and he always had a big ol orange boy. Several of them.
Now my Dad has one who hangs out in his shop. They are just the sturdiest little creatures. I have no idea why.
I have never had one myself. But I have always wanted one. My sister recently adopted two from her local HS. Great personalities.
My current three, all rescues, are on my page.
Ha. My oldest boy has gone deaf. He now looooooves to be vacuumed!
Looks like that kitty has a bit of Siamese in her. Her eyes are probably blue, right? If so, that's why they keep showing up pink.
Either that, or she's a devil kitty, and you're in for it!
Perhaps I have just chosen my ferals carefully ... I have never failed. Once the trust is established [it usually takes me about six months] they become overly trusting and I have had to keep them indoors.
A word of warning: Do not bring a feral cat into your home with your established, healthy cats. I have the means to keep a feral in a completely separate building while they are being tamed. They must be vetted immediately and then, after that, kept separate for quite a while to be absolutely certain that they do not bring anything harmful to your other cats.
This is a telling symptom of a problem. If your normally well-behaved cat starts to do this, he/she is trying to get your attention and trying to tell you something. Take him/her to the vet.
Anyway, I think because that kitty was so tiny and she was trying to fend for herself without her mom, she just never mentally recovered. At five years old, she was still terrified of everything, and we could never get her litter box trained. I think with her she probably suffered from some sort of developmental damage due to the terrible circumstances when she was a baby. Not only that, but you know how other animals will try to weed out the sick and weak? Well, this poor kitty was always being treated badly by my many otherwise very loving kitties. They knew something was wrong with her. She had to go where she was an only kitty.
The other was a starving kitty I found at a rest stop on an interstate. Beautiful, and very sweet. But she was extremely aggressive. She would search out my other kitties just to beat the crap out of them. We had her completely vetted, healthy, and spayed, then found her a new home, too.
I have also rescued two others (one my mom has, the other one of my sisters has), that have never seemed to recover from their lack of human contact. They will let their owners pet them, but frantically hide from any other human contact.
I guess I have just had so many, their personalities run the gamut.
If a person is inexperienced with animals, more often than not they think this problem is simply the animal "being bad".
I think this is what I love most about cats ... their personalities are so unique.
Our vet has told me several times that there is a window of opportunity for socialization of a kitten. Once that window is closed they are unlikely to be socialized. I have reservations about that because I once took in an 8 year old feral and no on thought I could socialize him. He turned into a very shy but loving cat.
As I type, there is a big red, 20 pounds, part-Persian kitty sitting on the table beside me purring. Every once in a while he will reach down and nip my hand. We rescued him 2-1/2 years ago. They told us at the HS that he had been very withdrawn since he was brought in ... when he saw my husband he sat up like a prairie dog ... as if to say look at me and please take me home. He has a fabulous personality but was apparently hit by a former owner. It has taken him 2-1/2 years to settle in and realize that he is never going to be hit again.
My most recent feral is a real sweetheart. She is ready to come over to the house now. I am eager to see how the others will take to her. She will first be in the mudroom ... and the others can get acquainted with the fact there is a new cat by sniffing under a closed door. Wish me luck.
My vet has about seven cats who live in her office. One of them was a pregnant momma when she was rescued from an alley with all the other ferals. She had her kitties at the vet's, and they kept her because she was so great. She ALWAYS lays on the keyboard at the front desk. She's a very sweet girl.
Good luck with your new one. I love having new kitties.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.