Rescue question - does saying no get easier??

[Booktigger]

I have had to turn a third person down today, and we still have until Sun before the end of the week!! And last Sun I did try and convince someone to give her cat more time, but she could have gone somewhere else (although as far as I know, all the rescues in teh area are full, and we are all just giving out each others numbers). I know if there is a really urgent situation we will find room somehow (hence being back up to 6 cats!!), but it is sad that we can only do it for the ones where it is urgent or they may be in danger, and more so for kittens than adults. I suppose we could (like most rescues i suppose) do with more fosterers, as we could help more then, but then we woudl have to do more fundraising!! When I fostered for CP, it was a lot different, as I just got cats brought to me, but I do a lot more for Cat77, I deal with the e-mail and some phone enquiries, plus now my old vet knows I do rescue work so they have contacted us four times, although only 2 have been healthy enough - I know it isn't a large amount in 8 months, but it is a source of cats the rescue didn't have before I fostered for them. At least their vets are nice and do things like handrear kittens for us.

[CathyW]

cant see whay theres so many un-wanted kittens, its so easy n cheap to get a cat done now, no need for un-wanted kittens anymore, is it just a case of a disposable society. oh the cats grwing up now its not cute anymore ill get rid og it, theres a family near me who do that with puppys, they get one and as soon as its out the cute stage they get rid of it. this years puppy is a cute little westie, wonder how long they will keep that one, last year it was a terrier of some sort.
god forbid if their kids grow out the cute looking stage they will get put up for adoption.
sorry bit of a rant here

[Booktigger]

Sadly there are still so many - we must have had over 40 kittens now, and we are a very small branch, some were before it was officially kitten season - but you are right, there is no need for it. And sadly, a lot of this years kittens have been very sickly - we had one litter of 5 where we lost either all or 4 of them, and others have died, with one at the vets who has had loads of tests and while they can't find anything wrong, he isn't eating that much and isn't putting weight on. We have had kittens from someone who wnated to breed, but sadly one of those died too. And it isn't just cats - our vets are currently hand rearing 8 border collie pups, not sure of the reason why admittedly, and they arent the first litter of pups she has hand reared this year. I do think that sadly this is a very disposable society - the person i advised to give the cat longer on Sun wanted to rehome her cat as he kept trying to find his way back to his old home, and she was concerned for his life - fair enough, but htey had only been at their new house for 2 months, it was like she wasn't willing to put time and effort in to keep him - and when asked how old he was 'well, either 4 or 5. We have had him from a kitten' - I cant get my head round someone having cats from kittens and not knowing their age - but my neighbour has done that too.

[Donna]

Its sad there are so many unwanted cats and kittens. I wish I could home them all. It is a society of "want one" and then people dont really think about the responsibility.

Where I work there is a flat next door and the girl there is on her own with a four month baby (her boyfriend has just walked out on her) and she has no money to pay rent and is going into a hostel through the council -
what does she do????

She gets a kitten.

This poor thing is so thin and scrawny and keeps getting stuck on the metal staircase and rooves of buildings at the back of our office. She doesnt seem to care. She says its an indoor cat as we are on the High Street but it is always out. I feel I care for it more than her! I want to catnap her and bring her home.

She has not thought about this kitten and has just got it on a whim. Sadly it is the kitten who will suffer in the long run and will end up in a rescue - if it is lucky.

[Booktigger]

IT is sad - I had to get CP involved to get my neighbours cats done earlier this year - she got one cat, thoguht it woudl be ncie to let her have kittens - one kitten survived out of 16, and sadly that was female, so they decided to let her have kittens too, and got a male cat to see what colours they would get, but she lost at least one litter, and I was shocked when they told me how old she was, she looked half her age. They are both done now, but they are still left out most nights and in bad weather. I do wish people would really think more about cats when getting them - I know we can't control everythign that happens in our lives, but simple things like not getting a pet if you havent' got enough money to live are just common sense to me!! Admittedly I had no idea how much cats cost when I got my first one, as I have never been around cat people who believe in regular vet visits, but I had a secure job and home, and found the money from somewhere, even if it meant being in debt quite a bit.