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Tera + 2 - 4
- Thread starter kittens mom
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Couldn't see the last pic because of facebook silliness, but oh! Could they BE any more magnificent?!!
For some reason, this pic still not showing.
But what fun to wallow in beautiful cats! NOTHING could be better! And Facebook has been wonky for the last couple of days.
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It was a pic of Tera at PetSmart from before she was forevered. So lovely. And my Toad reminds me of her everyday.
If there is Someone out There counting up brownie points, then your care for that little family has earned you a few bazillion of them.
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The reward if you want to call it that is having them in my life. It's also an excellent example for those that put the family cat in the carrier and dump them at the shelter because they don't have time or whatever the excuse is. We make the time we find a way we don't dump family members out to fend for themselves or be killed by strangers.
Spay and neuter your cats. My female cats are every bit as feminine as an unsprayed cat in fact we call this the House of Diva. There will never be a shortage of cats and kittens. Spay and neuter. There is no worse fate than to be unwanted and alone.
This story had a happy ending. Many more don't. Tera loved her babies. She didn't just clean and feed them she cuddled them. How awful it must be for a mother cat to watch her babies die , starve or be killed by dogs and wild animals or humans.
It is good that you have the same mindset as my family has about cats being family members for LIFE, and for spay/neuter. It's what you do when you care, and if you don't care, for one thing, you shouldn't be on TCS
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These sites tend to be insular because for the most part only people with similar ideals and beliefs join. The real world is much different and full of cruel and indifferent people who simply run though animals like toilet paper.It is good that you have the same mindset as my family has about cats being family members for LIFE, and for spay/neuter. It's what you do when you care, and if you don't care, for one thing, you shouldn't be on TCS
I wish for all those that have dumped a cat out to fend for itself that they too will find themselves alone, cold, hot, hungry and thirsty only to be driven off by someone who thinks that they are pests. May their lives be filled with empty bellies and want. Perhaps the saddest abandoned cat is the one that was loved and played with only to see the owners get bored or not want to care for it anymore and put out because cats can take care of themselves you know (sarcasm) I could never do it. I just couldn't. If you could then you shouldn't have animals.
Tera was so grateful for every can of food, every pet , every cuddle and being played with. I know she had been a house cat. I know my SIL tossed her out the first time she went in heat. I wonder if she had other babies that died. She trusted us with her babies. She trusted us. In her time of need despite being betrayed and forgotten she risked it all to be near humans. It is why I loath and despise my Hubs side of the family. I will no longer tolerate or pretend to like people who live at that level of existence.
Agree 100% on all. My (third and most recent) ex's family were pretty much that way, too. In fact, the patriarch once owned a hunting lodge and all the boys hunted. Two still do as far as I know. Cats? Yeah, they love them. But their level of actual care leaves a lot to be desired IMHO.
When I was very small, we cared for a little street cat who ended up being so sick that my father believed the best thing for him was euth. I was heartbroken, but he WAS extremely sick and his mouth was such a mess he couldn't eat. My family always rescued. My dad even took it upon himself to feed and buy food for some dogs that hung around a golf course where he sometimes played. He talked with the owners of the course and asked if they'd make sure someone fed them if he bought the food. Caring has always been part of my family's ethic.
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I believe that anyone who can raise an animal in their home and then dump it outside unprotected and unfed is someone who is fundamentally flawed and not someone I want or will tolerate in my life. My FB feed shows all the cats looking for homes in shelters across the country. Dumped family members and you can see the fear and confusion in their eyes. Most of them don't make it out of the shelter but are hauled into back rooms and killed. Meanwhile the louse owners have moved on to the next pet. If you do these things you cannot present yourself as a good Christian, person, parent, spouse, employee or even as a human because you have failed the most basic life skills. This is not the same as the mistakes we make as we are all flawed. This is about choices and people choose to find excuses to dump their cats. It's not a commitment until they are no longer kittens. It's a 12 year plus commitment , it's for life. We all know someone who always has a new puppy or kitten and the old cat or dog seems to be nowhere in sight.
As far as I'm concerned, Ancient Egypt had the right idea in making it law that anyone that harmed a cat would suffer capital punishment.
And yes, if someone is in your care, they should be FAMILY, and FAMILY should be for LIFE, through thick and thin, in sickness and in health. I can't imagine not wanting to share the entire life with my loved ones. They are dearer to me every day. You're right -- people who betray and abandon are absolutely fundamentally flawed. And I avoid such people.
I've missed most of this wonderful conversation due to a really nasty virus, but I agree wholeheartedly with ALL of the above!
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I hope your feeling better.
We are constantly remanded as children to not judge people. Now saying anything about anything anyone is doing is construed as being a bully. At some point we have to , must , evaluate the people in our lives and decide if we want them there.
As I watched over time the continued idiocy of my in-laws in all aspects of their lives including how they treat animals I realized that they clean up well but it's still polish on a turd. They hate me because they can no longer fool me. I have had that happen a lot in my life. I used to think there was a fault in myself and that I expect too much. Not anymore. I do not expect perfection but accept everyone warts and all so to speak. Until I see inherent dishonesty and deceit and for me, animal abuse. Especially those that present themselves as animal lovers but only for the social status. They do not love animals they USE animals.
Mamanyt1953
Whichever kind of virus it is, I hope and pray it resolves soon! 
And
kittens mom
Eloquently and very well put. I have the same problem with people including those on one side of my family, some of whom were involved in some very nefarious schemes and with whom I am now completely estranged. The one thing in their favor is that they do love cats -- everyone in my family, on both sides, always has, to my knowledge. As far as expectations and judging, I feel exactly the same way, being very far from perfect or divine myself, but also being a person who was raised with the values of compassion, kindness, gentleness, and personal responsibility. I cut people a LOT of slack, but give no quarter to anyone who lacks compassion and kindness, especially where cats are involved. And as most people are aware, I am not a dog person, but I would never see one harmed unless it harms a cat.
Dunno exactly what it was, but it felt like the early stages of flu, without any tummy stuff. Low-grade fever, aches, general malaise and ickiness. Lasted about 5 days, then went away, thankfully!
I will never understand why someone would abandon an animal. Never.
But there are good souls in this world, many of them RIGHT here, and a couple of them on this thread, who give me hope for us all.
Although I've known and deeply loved a few dogs in my life, I'm definitely a cat person, and I know what you are saying. And I'm also certain you mean that you would see a dog harmed in defense of, not in punishment for, harming a cat. After the fact does no good, and certainly teaches the dog nothing. That said, there is very little I would not do in defense of a cat.
I will never understand why someone would abandon an animal. Never.
But there are good souls in this world, many of them RIGHT here, and a couple of them on this thread, who give me hope for us all.
Could be any of a plethora of things, but glad it's gone!!!
I've had to care for two dogs in my life (I say "had to" because I had no choice in the matter. I did not want them, they were not mine, but I had to care for them.) There's just nothing about the canidae of any species that is attractive to me. And as for the reasoning behind my statement, I care about every cat, and if anyone harms one, I advocate for capital punishment, quickly, for that individual. It's not to do with reasoning on my part -- I was born into a home "with cat" and love all cats. It's sort of instinctual for me.
Well, there are a lot of people that don't get raised with good values like kindness, compassion, and personal responsibility. Because I was fortunate enough to be raised with them, they are important to me, but people have a tough time with things they've never known. That's why I advocate for what could be called "humane education" from the earliest school level up through the most advanced. Parents/family and certainly religious leaders do not teach these values in many cases, so someone else should. It would make for a much better world! and there are people and groups actively engaged in doing this but it is far from universal, and industrialized societies push STEM now, which is fine, but leaves out things that make for civilized societies. I greatly value intelligence, but without compassion, people are sorely lacking IMHO.
I TOTALLY support that! And the earlier it starts, the better!
Oh yeah. Ancient Egypt had the right idea. When people think this out, they'd find that it makes perfect sense, because anyone who would harm the most unconditionally loyal and loving, innocent, blameless and vulnerable has already crossed a line from which there is no return, and is soulless. A soulless individual has no remorse and no compassion. I for one know that such individuals do not belong in any society.
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That statement was in context to this site. I've probably rescued more dogs than many dyed in the wool dog lovers. I abhor all animal abuse. I have warned many dog owners out here who let them run loose. What one dog will never think of, two will consider and three will act like a pack if there is one among who has the proclivity to chase and kill or chase livestock. I had a goat for years that came from a horrible situation. She was horrible and no one else wanted her so I learned to lover her for who she was and that led the way to transforming her.
Dogs can be trained to suppress some of their natural behaviors IF the guardian takes the time. The biggest issue with all astray animals is they are acting like animals and their guardians have failed to crawl out of the low end of the gene pool and behave like adults.
The lawsuit that still sits ready to sell the holy ever loving crap out of my in-laws for their loose , vicious , untrained, unsocialized non stop barking dogs is not because the dogs were bad but because they allowed them to become a menace. So far the threat of real legal action has suppressed most of the nonsense.
Most of us here get an animal make if family and settle in for better or worse and deal with issues. Other people use their car and a dirt road in the dark of night. They are usually serial animal owners.
I shared Frog and Toads first year here and while it may have been heartwarming raising kittens to be good cats does take some effort.
I shared the horrors of losing Kitten to a veterinary monster sub human and the pain we go though when we lose one of our own.
Never once did we consider dumping her in the night box at the shelter or just dumping her in a crate somewhere. If you can't handle the eventual end no matter how it comes you shouldn't have that puppy or kitten. That is simply a transitional stage to the very quick onset of adult dogs and cats. Your dog doesn't belong chained to the bumper of your car and your cat cannot take care of itself outside alone.
To bring home an animal and then abandon it or dump it in a shelter is pure selfish and self serving behavior. It is why Bek that getting the laws changed to hold DVMs legally accountable for some of the gross negligence they are guilty of is so hard. People still think it's ok to acquire animals like objects to be used , liked and then discarded like last years scarf from Aunt Mable. We're a going to change that.
