THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR NEIGHBORS DON'T SPAY & NEUTER THEIR CATS!
This was my journal entry from Dec. 3, 2007, the night we found Eli in our barn.
This was my journal entry from Dec. 3, 2007, the night we found Eli in our barn.
At the end of this post is a photo of Eli now. He has become a barn cat by day and a house cat by night.
This is Eli. Named Eli because he is thin and slimy and black, like an eel. He does NOT have rabies. And, he also is not wild. He magically appeared at my house though, as so many of them do. But when they are friendly and nice, I believe they deserve a chance.
This is Eli. Named Eli because he is thin and slimy and black, like an eel. He does NOT have rabies. And, he also is not wild. He magically appeared at my house though, as so many of them do. But when they are friendly and nice, I believe they deserve a chance.
Was he someone's house cat? Or what? He is skinny skinny skinny. And, well, snot everywhere. Eyes, nose, mouth.
I am going to tell you what makes me the most mad about this. What if I didn't vaccinate my barn cats? They would all end up like this. The Vet thinks we are dealing with a viral thing. Can't remember the name of it, but a very common thing to vaccinate for. And if my kitties weren't vaccinated, well, does this look contagious to you? I don't think living in the country means you don't have to spay and neuter. I know that some people have no idea where some of their kittens end up. THEY END UP LIKE THIS, OKAY? They go over to the neighbors' house and they make other cats sick! and it makes the neighbors mad! My barn cats (7 of them) are all vaccinated, all dewormed, all spayed & neutered. They are the best hunters ever! I never see mice running around in my barn. Only the ones that the cats catch.
All of my barn cats are someone else's fault. But I know that if I don't take care of them, they will be sick and I will have kittens everywhere and they will be sick too. And then they will go over to the neighbors' house and make their cats sick too!
When we moved in here there were 6 wild female cats in the barn. Of course they all had kittens. I found new homes for 30 some kittens that first summer. We tamed a few of the mamas and got them spayed. The others just disappeared or stuck around and had more kittens, which I captured when they were 4.5 weeks old, not wild yet, and taught them how to be house cats and then found them homes as house cats. Eventually, after a few years, our cat herd was under control!
If I can do it, anyone can. It is important. SPAY & NEUTER AND VACCINATE YOUR CATS! Healthy barn cats can live for a long time and catch a lot of mice for you!
What will happen to Eli? I don't know. He's getting lots of medicine. He's in a big cage in the entry way in the house. He is warm. He has a heating pad under his blanket too. He ate a little bit tonight. I am cautiously hopeful. But I just don't have the heart to watch him starve to death, freeze to death, or die because he cannot breathe. I don't feel the same way about cats that I do about horses, but I can't stand to let any animal suffer. Greg & I also cannot shoot everything we see that we don't like. And so, Eli is getting a chance.
All of my barn cats are someone else's fault. But I know that if I don't take care of them, they will be sick and I will have kittens everywhere and they will be sick too. And then they will go over to the neighbors' house and make their cats sick too!
When we moved in here there were 6 wild female cats in the barn. Of course they all had kittens. I found new homes for 30 some kittens that first summer. We tamed a few of the mamas and got them spayed. The others just disappeared or stuck around and had more kittens, which I captured when they were 4.5 weeks old, not wild yet, and taught them how to be house cats and then found them homes as house cats. Eventually, after a few years, our cat herd was under control!
If I can do it, anyone can. It is important. SPAY & NEUTER AND VACCINATE YOUR CATS! Healthy barn cats can live for a long time and catch a lot of mice for you!
What will happen to Eli? I don't know. He's getting lots of medicine. He's in a big cage in the entry way in the house. He is warm. He has a heating pad under his blanket too. He ate a little bit tonight. I am cautiously hopeful. But I just don't have the heart to watch him starve to death, freeze to death, or die because he cannot breathe. I don't feel the same way about cats that I do about horses, but I can't stand to let any animal suffer. Greg & I also cannot shoot everything we see that we don't like. And so, Eli is getting a chance.
Here is Eli now.
