by Jackie Dale
Jackie is a part of Cat House On The Kings in Parlier and does a monthly column on the Cat House here at KRL.
Fall Newsletter is Out
KRL's current Cat House adoptable cat Dale Evans-check her out in our first right sidebar
For those of you who don’t already know, I also write the quarterly newsletter for The Cat House on the Kings. The fall issue is now out and I encourage you to read it. You can of course, go to our website and read it. However, if you sign up to receive the e-newsletter, we can deliver it directly to your in-box. We also send out print versions but we strongly encourage everyone to sign up for the e-newsletter as it saves us a bundle on postage. Just go to
www.cathouseonthekings.com and go to the bottom right corner of the home page. Along with signing up, you can view the previous issues. Print copies are also available at The Cat House offices and at the Petco Adoption Center in Fresno and you can download a copy here:
www.cathouseonthekings.com/docs/newsletters/TCHotK_2014_09.pdf.
Lemon Avenue Puppies
Collin, rescued!
I have been working to find placement for five puppies that have been roaming a dead end street with their mother. (Mom is already scheduled for her spay) The property owner works a vegetable garden there but seemed unable and/or unwilling to do anything about the puppies. A woman from Fresno who rescues and re-homes dogs drove down and picked up the puppies. She found homes for three of them. She was talked into waiving the fee for the fourth puppy as the man said he wanted the puppy for his little boy. We were shocked to then see the puppy’s photo posted on Facebook for sale for $50. Unsuccessful attempts were made to retrieve the puppy and ultimately a police report was filed.
This is a textbook example of why you NEVER waive the re-homing fee. If you can’t pay a nominal fee, then you really can’t afford to have a pet. If they won’t pay, then they have an ulterior motive. It’s that simple. Period. The fifth pup was missing but finally reappeared. I asked Bandit’s Buddies Rescue if they could take it once I had it fixed and they said yes. I am VERY grateful to them for their help with Blondie and now this puppy.
Tiny Kittens in Peril
Kittens-rescued!
I received a call one evening from the son of a fellow rescuer. Martin Papaleo is a long-time volunteer/rescuer/foster parent for The Cat House on the Kings. His son was working demolishing a burned out apartment building when he found a young mama cat and four newborn kittens. They called The Cat House but were told they were full, which brings up another story that I will get to after this one. Anyhow, Martin’s son called me and asked if I could take them. Martin already has
14 cats and kittens that he is trying to find homes for so I said I would look for a foster. I put out feelers and one of my friends agreed to foster the family. The mother will be spayed once the kittens are weaned and all will be up for adoption. Reserve your kitten now! Mom is black, the least desired color, but she is super sweet.
911-Immediate Kitten Rescue Needed!
One evening I received a message from a friend. She had a friend who found a kitten that had collapsed on her lawn. She took in the badly injured kitten, gave it water and made it comfortable. The kitten was in such bad shape that she assumed it was going to die. The following day, when the kitten was still alive, she called my friend and asked her what she should do. She had called the local animal control but had not been called back. My friend contacted me and I told them to call The Cat House and ask for help.
RIP Rocky
Well, my friend relayed the message but the woman didn’t call, she didn’t want to make the trip to The Cat House. My friend messaged me again, now almost 48 hours later, the cat was still alive. On top of that, he had not received any nourishment in that time, only water. Now I was angry. I sent a message “demanding” that she have her friend call me right away. I made arrangements to pick up the kitten within the hour. I brought the little guy home and honestly did not think he would survive another night. The left side of his head and face seem crushed inward. I kept him warm, put tiny icepacks on his head and force-fed him kitten formula. The next morning he was still alive so I rushed him out to The Cat House. “Rocky” was a fighter. He struggled valiantly for nearly a month. I really thought he would make it. Unfortunately, just as I was finishing this column, I received word that little Rocky could no longer fight the fight, and he had crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.
You Can’t Please Everyone
Earlier I made reference to how The Cat House on the Kings is really bursting at the seams with kittens. I ran across some rantings on a Facebook page by two women who were very unhappy with The Cat House because they were also told that there was “no room at the inn.” Both women admitted knowing they had unfixed homeless cats in their area and they were feeding them. Both cited time and money as factors for their lack of action. Meanwhile, the cats bred freely. One woman had 16 kittens that she wanted The Cat House to take off her hands. She could not understand why they could not and in fact stated; “They were really mean to me and acted like I did something wrong.” One of the women said “I KNOW they take stray cats but for some reason they wouldn’t take these cats.” If The Cat House has no room for kittens that are really in need of rescue from a long-time volunteer, what makes them think they will accept the results (kittens) of someone who has done absolutely nothing to mitigate their own circumstances?
Common sense and aforethought seem to be such rare commodities these days. It would have been (and still is), prudent to spay and neuter the cats right away so that you don’t end up with 16 kittens. There are many low-cost and even free, spay and neuter options. A few dollars, a little bit of your time and you nip a huge potential problem in the bud. Or you can do nothing and then complain when you find out there is nowhere for cats to go in this valley. Spay and Neuter-The Only Answer.
Wasabi (r) & Newman (l)
To wrap up this column, I present you with Wasabi and Newman. These adorable kittens were found, it hurts me to even write this, tied up and hung from a fence at a dog rescue facility. They are now fixed, healthy and looking for loving furever homes. Contact lin4e@comcast[dot]net. Your donations enable us to continue saving lives, and are always greatly appreciated. Remember, if you place an ad in Kings River Life, you can denote 10% of the ad fee to The Cat House on the Kings.
Check out more animal rescue & pet related articles, including more Cat House columns, in our Pet Perspective section.
Jackie Dale is a freelance writer who lives in Reedley with her husband of 21 years, Frank, and their 2 children. Jackie currently writes for Traffic Magazine and for The Cat House on the Kings Feline Rescue. A former ballerina, Jackie now teaches yoga and fitness classes privately and at local area gyms.
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You do wonderful but heart breaking work.
Thank you so much, again, Jackie — I always read you in the TCHOTK quarterly newsletters, and also subscribe to KRL mag, where I found you today. Thank God for people like you and Lynea – and many many others too of course — for what you do tirelessly and often without compensation or even thanks !
Think your column & Cat House On The Kings are wonderful!! Thank you for all the wonderful work you guys do! I’m praying for you all.
I get so upset with people like you described. I adopted a litter of 3 kittens from a rescue near L.A. who had the mother cat. This was the 2nd time the owner of the mother cat had brought the cat to the rescue to get the kittens adopted but refused to allow them to spay or adopt the mother. I agreed to take the mother also but the idiot refused and refused the spay. My triplets just turned 10 and live with a 15 y.o. cat brother and a 7y.o. Cavalier. All are rescues.
I want to cry for all the little kittens and big kitties who need homes. I live in a city that allows only 3 cats, in a condo that allows only 1, and I have 5 rescue kitties that hide whenever anyone comes over — they know the rules. If I could, I’d fill my home with as many cats as I could handle. I read your periodicals all the time and I’m especially touched by the little one who has gone to heaven (Rocky). I enjoy all your articles and appreciate all the work and effort you put into the stories. Thanks so much, Jessie
You have done more than anyone has done always finding someone to blame . I have donated and will try to continue . Have 4 dogs 6 cats that keep me busy and loving it! Know my calling from God.
After many years supporting the Kings, us Orange county followers need to get more involved. I’ve made many contributions to the Kings without apparent benefit to our local cat colonies. It is time to get involved across the board to help our local Orange County homeless and feral communities. My offers to provide transportation without cost for colony exchanges have gone un-answered the Kings.
LET US in OC work with our local groups.
Get Involved Orange County. Contact http://meoowzresq.org/
They took in kittens and are local.
Your columns are wonderful! Thank you for all you do.
Thank you for all you do. I know firsthand how hard it is to deal with uneducated people who cause damage without even realizing it. The worst is the so called “cat people” who don’t care properly for their animals by spaying and neutering.
My husband and I have a feral colony we are caring for and have spayed and neutered ALL cats and the colony is stable. All new arrivals are trapped and cared for. Those that are adoptable are fostered and adopted. Best of luck on your efforts.
Dear Jackie: Thank you for all you do. 🙂
As a reminder to those who rescue and the ones who reach out to rescues/shelters:
If a rescue or shelter says “No Room” it is simple because that’s the truth. It’s not personal. If said rescue or shelter took in more animals than they could handle, it’s simple – eventually they would fail and have to permanently close their doors. As someone who works in the animal care field, I’ve sadly seen several wonderful rescues close down, or even worse been forced to close down, due to overcrowding or taking in more than they can sufficiently care for. Caring includes enough food, medical care, space, proper isolation areas and many many more items, including money to keep it running. Cat House On The Kings, sadly, was correct to turn away animals because they were full.
One thing we ALL have to understand and take to heart is that “I can’t save them all”. It’s literally the truth. Do the best we can and care 100% for the ones we are able to. If you try to save them all, you will eventually end up sacrificing them all.
Best Regards,
J
J, your comment made me thing of a line from one of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa.
“Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway”
From the Mom of currently 11 rescues =^,,^=
I am not on Facebook, but you can tell those lazy, complaining women to shut up, get off their duffs and do something. Nothing will get done if they spend their time complaining.