Cute Kittens

[Shelley123]

Originally Posted by Elaine

How exactly would your "convert" from the inside? See maybe my aproach does ailienate people but by the same token pandering to them allows them to think that what they have done is ok and only serves to encourage more.

I have been converted from the inside or should i say i have gained lots of information and learned from joining various forums.
I haven't bred a litter and my Cats have always been neutered. I have also been involved with rescue as a teen.
However before joining the forum i realy wouldn't have thought it was wrong to breed a litter. Maybe it sounds naive but i hadn't realy thought about BYB.
Years ago my beloved dalmation came from a BYB, friends of my O/H who bred their bitch. Although she was a brilliant dog i now know with hindsight that they would be classed as BYB.
Thanks to learning on another forum we were able to seek a responsible breeder.

[Elaine]

I am honestly keen to know how we go about educating from within without condoning or pulpit preaching.
The thing is, you can only educate people if they want to learn. Many who join the forum have already gone ahead and mated their cats without seeking any knowledge at all. They then get offended that their actions have offended but fail to see or care that they have caused offence initially.

[Shelley123]

Originally Posted by Elaine

I am honestly keen to know how we go about educating from within without condoning or pulpit preaching.
The thing is, you can only educate people if they want to learn. Many who join the forum have already gone ahead and mated their cats without seeking any knowledge at all. They then get offended that their actions have offended but fail to see or care that they have caused offence initially.

I don't know the answer to this Elaine.
I do think it is something that needs addressing, it's not the only forum where i have seen this happen.
Maybe a charter or something is a good idea so people can read through it before joining.
I must admit to feeling very upset when people are made to feel unwelcome but i can see both sides to.
I haven't been involved with rescue since my teens and so haven't seen cats PTS due to lack of homes.
I do feel very strongly that these forums are a great place to learn as well as have fun.

[Elaine]

So should we collectively be asking Az for some sort of charter then? Would people be in agreement to that? For me when it comes to these issues, being told to ignore what you dont like is NOT an answer and it goes back to the adage "if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem". That's how I see it. Maybe Catsey could be a pioneer on this front.

[Moli]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Moli, you had a "cream" kitten like our Tim'! Was this a feral litter?

They were from a colony of farm cats, but not in the least feral.....

This is Murphy one of the litter.....Kept him a bit longer as he had a very bad eye for a while...

[Velvet]

Would people actually read it though? There are forums (cant remember if catsey & dogsey are or not) where to join it has to be approved by an Administrator. At this point before approval maybe Admin could send out protocols etc & only if agreed to
Members could join. Then again you can only go on people's honesty, they could agree to anything - "just to join".

I think as far as.the OP is concerned she knows now (hopefully has did research) that on a rescue forum breeding is bad regarding the situation countless kittens & cats ending up in rescue, turned out to survive on their own once the novelty wears off or the numbers of ferals who struggle to survive. From that point of view then the forum & its
members have (hopefully) succeeded in changing that person's attitude.

Would a Poll be a good idea? Im a relatively new member so perhaps i am not in a position to make suggestions?

[Elaine]

If the member just agree'd to the charter without reading or any other reason and proved to be an irresponsible cat owner by not adhereing to the guide set out them their membership should simply be revoked. That way existing responsible members would not have to keep coming to loggerheads over this time and time again.
With regards to the OP, I havent read anything to suggest that they have learned anything at all from any of this and has to this day not answered any questions that were asked, but has had support and question answered to them.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by Moli

They were from a colony of farm cats, but not in the least feral.....

This is Murphy one of the litter.....Kept him a bit longer as he had a very bad eye for a while...

Hes absolutely gorgeous. Tim was the first cream kitten the Rescue we got him from had ever had. Murphy obviously thrived very well under your expert care.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by Elaine

If the member just agree'd to the charter without reading or any other reason and proved to be an irresponsible cat owner by not adhereing to the guide set out them their membership should simply be revoked. That way existing responsible members would not have to keep coming to loggerheads over this time and time again.
With regards to the OP, I havent read anything to suggest that they have learned anything at all from any of this and has to this day not answered any questions that were asked, but has had support and question answered to them.

I do feel the OP has taken on board how members of the forum feel about irresponsible breeding. The fact she is thinking of getting the kittens neutered herself & asking questions from experienced members on when best to neuter mum shows, i feel, they are


beginning to doubt letting mum have kittens in the first place. If not that then the responsibility of so many lives now lies directly with them. These kittens are going to be ready for homes in Spring when so many others are going to be ready at same time. People can pick & choose & frankly from what I can see in the short time i have had cats, if you lose a kitten, just go out & get another one. Perhaps it might be an idea to encourage the OP to ask a Rescue to home these kittens obce old enough.?

As someone else suggested the OP should have their intact male cat neutered now before mum comes into season again. This little cat has had a very big litter for the first time & real damage could occur if the male got to her again so soon, but then i am only voicing what others here already know.

[Elaine]

I think most of us here sing pretty much from the same hymn book so lets try to come to an amicable resolution, one that we can all agree on for the benefit of Catsey, it's members both present and future and ultimately one that shows that we promote responsible cat ownership.
We have these uprisings all too often and I know that I am one of the ones that gets on my high horse and I do so because I care and because I dont want to be viewed as part of the problem. I also dont want Catsey to be viewed as part of the problem but until we can agree on something that we can put forward to Az then nothing will change.