considering a cat

like if i was ready to get a cat i would have gotten one a couple months ago. an adult cat. not two manic kittens.

it's not just the expense geez

i might get a kitten in january suggest names here

― horrible (harbl), Monday, November 10, 2008 10:35 PM

stop standing in the way of your own cat happiness.

that was when we thought my friend's cat was pregnant

catppiness

gettin catty in here

oh guys lay off :-/

these poor kittens were already abandoned once.
do it again, and they'll be scarred.

yeah no they won't

just playin devil's catvocate here.

Somebody has to.

Oh for pete's sake. Harbl, I'm with you, I don't think anyone is obligated to rescue animals they didn't abandon -- congrats for you if you do, but you don't have to re-make your life for a cat. Of all things. And people who don't think about how much babies cost are a) stupid and b) in big trouble. Here's a newsflash for you: LOTS OF PEOPLE WAIT TO HAVE BABIES B/C THEY CAN'T AFFORD THEM. If you have one, you make do. But cost is an excellent reason to wait, imo.

http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/8093/picture1st7.png

Also FYI you people who say that ultimately the cats will "take care of themselves" are the same people who say things like, "Muffy threw up in my shoes again because she's mad at me, but that's just how cats are. You have to love them. They pee in the house, they yak up hairballs, that's just all part of being a cat! Awww aren't they so cute???"

ftr i don't even really like cats.

no one is obligated to rescue cats, but when you choose to do so then you accept responsibility for them and it's kinda crappy to back out? anyway obviously harbl isn't gonna keep the cats so it's a moot point and hopefully they find a nice home.

Okay actually I think it was roxy and latebloomer and I don't remember who else who said, "This is the reality of cat ownership. You have to love them." But my point stands, at no time do they ACTUALLY "take care of themselves".

i think someone can provide care/companionship in dire and acute situations w/o taking lifetime responsibility!

xp

Well, she took them out of an alley. If they go to a shelter now, at least they'll be fed and heated until someone takes them, or they're humanely put to sleep. That's a better life than freezing in the street and becoming feral and hungry all the time, and starting to reproduce MORE litters of unwanted kittens as soon as they hit 6-8 months and come into heat. Even just the part she has already done is a net benefit to cats in general, and these two kittehs in particular.

i dunno if i saw the cats by the dumpster i would probably say 'aw, poor cats' and then go home because there are just too many strays and i figure they usually do alright and i don't worry about them too much. or they get hit by a car, but it's that or dying in a shelter if not adopted, right?

maybe they're busker cats, one plays guitar, one sings/warbles Dylan tunes, and they'd be fine on the streets

Maybe you should make them into busker cats, so they can earn their keep!

2nd best busker ever: a man who had a dog. He would put a cat on top of the dog and then mice on top of they cat. They would sit there and rake in the $$$.

I think shelters euthanize eventually if no one takes. But yeah, I don't rescue cats I find outside -- and at the Lorimer loft, there were always baby kittehs on the way to the JMZ train, but people in those buildings were already putting food out etc and I couldn't tell if the parents were around so I left them. But honestly those kittens have probably each had 3 litters of their own by now and that shit is ridic.

best: library branch in wburg that feeds all the cats... walking by there is like entering crazy cat lady zone.

guys wtf
i am not taking them to a shelter atm. there are a bunch of no-kill orgs around.
i took them in because they were behind my house alone. not in a dumpster btw.

harbl, it was kind of you to rescue them and i don't at all think you are obliged to keep them. i hope you find a place that will take them.

Even kill shelters like municipal animal care and control don't necessarily kill animals if they aren't adopted within X period of time. Usually, they do a screening to determine adaptability/health. If the cat has feline leukemia or FIV or is a total and unredeemable asshole, they will euthanize the cat. If not, they will put the cat up for adoption at their own facility or send the cat out to a humane society or other local no kill shelter. So giving the cats to a shelter is not an automatic death sentence by any means.

You know, I never come across stray kittens in any of my regular routes. I wonder if Chicago ACC is really great, or if it is just the heaps of rat poison that the city puts in all the alleys. (I do come across rats on my regular routes.)

Also, I think it's better to take in the strays, recognize that you are not in a good place to care for cats, and then give them to a shelter than it is to leave the kittens in the alley* or keep them knowing full well that you can't do right by them.

*I would prob leave the kittens in the alley and call CACC because we have two cats and a small apartment and no car and I would hate to bring home fleas/worms/ear mites/FIV/feline leukemia.

harbl, i would love for you to be in a position to keep these kittehs cuz that's how such stories are meant to roll and it wd make this thread the most zomg cute ever. but the realities of your situation evidently preclude such an outcome and you shouldn't suffer the additional burden of guilt for that, as this is obv hard enough for you as it is. it really was wonderful of you to rescue them in the first place btw.

not even by a dumpster. my building doesn't have one. they were basically by the basement door where piles of trash and bottles and shit has fallen down, at the bottom of a flight of stairs. if they were big enough to find their own food or their mother was anywhere i wouldn't bother. they'd been there at least half a day meowing. i also never see cats around and my street is not very safe for them.

yeah i think if they had to go to a shelter someone would adopt them because they're kittens and seem healthy if a little underfed

you're awesome for even bringing them into your life--no lie

you should just do what they did on it's always sunny in philly and try to make some money by turning the kittens into mexican child actors

then you wouldn't have any cares

i love cats :/

keep the cats and we'll start an I LOVE CATS board

i was feeling charitable so i got a new plant

update plz

still have them
still can't keep them

waiting to hear back from SPCA

tell them i said 'sup

they said owwww-wowwwww which is what they say all the time so i don't know if they care or not

--no i know what that means, we have a cat, that's good news

would you like 2 more cats

mail them

like garfield

i will hand-deliver them by marc train

no our cat barely puts up with us, i can't imagine what she'd do with two little rascals from baltimore

but thank u