I rescued a Cat yesterday

[Talien]

I stopped at an address for my work route and there was a small Cat in a livetrap on the porch. On an 85f+ degree day. In direct sunlight. With no water. The poor Cat had ripped open a nearby plastic bag full of cigarette butts and dragged the mess into the trap. There was an open wound on it's head, most likely cage rub from trying to get out of the trap that was really too small for a Cat. No answer at the door. So I went home, took my lunch break, removed all material for my job from my car (to avoid any kind of liability in case of a camera), grabbed one of my own livetraps and attached a note explaining that I had taken the Cat with one of my email addresses as contact info, and went back to the house. Still no answer at the door so I took the trap with the Cat and put it on the tarp in my back seat and left my own trap with the note attached. Brought the Cat home and dusted it with food grade DE to take care of any external parasites that might have been present, then set it up in my foster room. Not sure if it's male or female and haven't wanted to stress it out further by checking, but my gut says female. It's obviously scared and just hides but at least it's eating and drinking so I'm pretty sure it's not feral and is either a stray or someone's outdoor pet. Either is bad because the area was along a main road with lots of traffic.

Yes, I stole someone's live trap and possibly someone's Cat (though I do plan on returning the trap Monday and retrieving mine). I regret nothing and will happily do it again if given the chance, anyone who has a problem with that can orient said problem vertically and sit on it. Not that I expect anyone here to have a problem with it.

 

[catapault]

You done good!!! Cat looks young, rather skinny, cautious but not terrified. I am eager to hear the next chapter of this story.

 

[tabbytom]

Yes, I stole someone's live trap and possibly someone's Cat (though I do plan on returning the trap Monday and retrieving mine). I regret nothing and will happily do it again if given the chance, anyone who has a problem with that can orient said problem vertically and sit on it. Not that I expect anyone here to have a problem with it.

I hope that person has no other intention but only TNR for this cat. Looks like a stray and have little food. If it's strictly TNR, I guess that person is happy that you keep the cat.

Good thing that you came by and save him from the sweltering heat and being no water in the cage, the cat could have suffered from heat stroke and die.

 

[Talien]

Turns out there's a happy ending here. I was contacted by the person from that house, she said it might be her Cat that had escaped from the house a few days ago. She had been trying to get the Cat back inside but hadn't had any luck, she set out the trap earlier in the week and thought she had shut it before leaving for the weekend but got distracted by kids and apparently forgot. I asked what her Cat looked like and she sent me a picture, it was the same Cat, so I'll be returning her tomorrow.

 

[AmyFluffyMom]

Yea Happy ending!

 

[jefferd18]

I think you did a wonderful thing, however, I am little cautious about this happy ending. Did she not realize that " her" cat could have died in a cage that had no water and was set on a extremely hot day? Is she that clueless?

 

[Dana_And_Monster]

I think you did a wonderful thing, however, I am little cautious about this happy ending. Did she not realize that " her" cat could have died in a cage that had no water and was set on a extremely hot day? Is she that clueless?

She said she was distracted by kids. Kids I assume means multiple, a little more time consuming and high maintenance than a cat.

 

[catapault]

Not such a happy ending if she was gone for a WEEKEND and the cat was trapped in a too small trap, no water, no food, in hot weather and died. She couldn't be bothered to ask a neighbor, friend, relative to have a look while she was gone and see if the cat was hanging around the house? Who would have seen it in the trap and rescued it the same as you have done.

Oh so sorry, nope not your cat, hope you find it and may I have my trap back.

 

[Talien]

I think you did a wonderful thing, however, I am little cautious about this happy ending. Did she not realize that " her" cat could have died in a cage that had no water and was set on a extremely hot day? Is she that clueless?

That was my concern and I was originally going to say it wasn't the Cat, or that it had died, but after she explained that she had set the trap earlier in the week to try and get her back inside but was distracted by kids before she could close it for the weekend I felt better about it.

 

[game misconduct]

Turns out there's a happy ending here. I was contacted by the person from that house, she said it might be her Cat that had escaped from the house a few days ago. She had been trying to get the Cat back inside but hadn't had any luck, she set out the trap earlier in the week and thought she had shut it before leaving for the weekend but got distracted by kids and apparently forgot. I asked what her Cat looked like and she sent me a picture, it was the same Cat, so I'll be returning her tomorrow.

good on you man and much respect for what and how you took action

 

[jefferd18]

She said she was distracted by kids. Kids I assume means multiple, a little more time consuming and high maintenance than a cat.

"than a cat"?? I don't think so. We are talking about a life here- whether if be a kid's or a cat.

 

[jefferd18]

. She couldn't be bothered to ask a neighbor, friend, relative to have a look while she was gone and see if the cat was hanging around the house? Who would have seen it in the trap and rescued it the same as you have done.

No kidding.

 

[Dana_And_Monster]

"than a cat"?? I don't think so. We are talking about a life here- whether if be a kid's or a cat.

First; not everyone is you.
Second.. I said "..a little more time consuming and high maintenance than a cat. "
Nothing about life here, rather the simple fact that parents, especially in a pandemic, are bound to be more attentive to their own human children over their family pet because their human children are... Human, who will live to be 60+ years old, who will have jobs and families of their own, who require vital socializing and teaching to succeed, and require much more maintenance than a cat - teaching, scolding, watching, interacting, feeding. cleaning - whatever it may be - children come first to a high majority of people and it's ignorant to assume otherwise just because - for example, we may not think that way. And this is not exclusive to cats either - family dogs, for example, are the same.

she set out the trap earlier in the week and thought she had shut it before leaving for the weekend but got distracted by kids and apparently forgot.

I know you'll hate this hear this, but this is normal for a lot of parents. Kids make you frazzled and take up almost all of your time, sometimes your brain gets scattered and you don't think about things like that. And that's perfectly OKAY! Over 2 thousand cats are killed in shelters in the US alone, and gate-keeping who gets to have cats off of accidents of like this is completely counter productive and regressive thinking. Mistakes happen.

 

[jefferd18]

First; not everyone is you.
Second.. I said "..a little more time consuming and high maintenance than a cat. "
Nothing about life here, rather the simple fact that parents, especially in a pandemic, are bound to be more attentive to their own human children over their family pet because their human children are... Human, who will live to be 60+ years old, who will have jobs and families of their own, who require vital socializing and teaching to succeed, and require much more maintenance than a cat - teaching, scolding, watching, interacting, feeding. cleaning - whatever it may be - children come first to a high majority of people and it's ignorant to assume otherwise just because - for example, we may not think that way. And this is not exclusive to cats either - family dogs, for example, are the same.




Excuse me- first of all, you don't know me, so you are making an awful lot of assumptions for someone you just engaged with online.

I don't really care who you think is on top of the food chain because if you are too busy to take care of your cat, then you don't need a cat. My parents raised me to regard our pets as members of the family. Animals don't ask us to take them in, but when we do, we damn well better do a good job and I don't regard leaving your cat in a too small cage, with no water, for the WEEKEND, a good job. Quit acting like you are doing them a favor.

End of conversation.

 

[fionasmom]

You did the right thing. I have rescued dogs and cats over the years in similar situations and have never felt that it was wrong to take matters into my own hands. In one case of a dog I was told by AC not to try to find an owner or advertise, and not to bring him to the shelter because the owner, whoever he was, should not even have an animal for reasons ranging from stupidity to pure evil.

I agree that you probably used very good judgment in returning the cat to the owner given that you sound like a very together person. I do share the concerns of others though that the situation is a little odd and careless. I am on the fence as to whether or not I would have said that the cat was lost, escaped the trap, or died. The family probably should not have pets at this point in time as too much else is going on with the kids.

Since this is a route, do you pass by enough to see if anything else might be amiss, like the cat is trapped a second time in the same situation or is clearly not cared for? Once when I rescued a beagle who stayed with me for a week despite serious posting looking for the owner.....they were too busy to call was the reason.....I stopped by once in a while to ask how Buster was doing. These people weren't all that stressed....they could have sent the nanny door to door to look for the dog or make the phone calls.

 

[Talien]

.....Somehow I get the feeling that some people are completely misreading the situation, or misreading what I posted.

Took the Cat over there this morning on my way to the Humane Society and had the chance to talk to the lady at length. She had a spay appointment set up earlier this year, but covid happened and screwed everything up and the Cat ended up going into heat several times over the spring and summer. She escaped last week and the family looked for her but had no luck, then borrowed the trap from her father and set it out. Her sister got married this weekend and she was going to shut the trap and bring it in the house before they left so nothing would get caught in it, but a 3 and 5 year old fighting distracted everyone and the trap got left on the porch.

 

[jefferd18]

.....Somehow I get the feeling that some people are completely misreading the situation, or misreading what I posted.

No, you made it clear, it's just that some people get tired of the same worn out excuses.(Yeah, COVID been a good one, sorry but vets have been doing spays and neuters for months now). That cat looked like hell and If you hadn't come along at that time that cat would have been toast. What if that had been a baby left on the porch instead of a cat? I'm outta here.