So, you're saying you only have *one* cat so far? How can you do that?
In our house, cats are like potato chips; we could never have just one!
Seriously, you seem very thoughtful and considerate. If you could
provide a loving (and infertile) home for this cat, you would be doing a
good deed. Or, if you can afford to do so, perhaps the local shelter
would take the cat on the condition that when a suitable home is found
you might help pay for the neutering or other medical expenses incurred
when a cat is adopted.
Two of my current cats were foisted off on me via my vet's office. Both
had been dumped at farms. (Morons often think that cats can thrive
around barns, without medical attention or real food or shelter.)
In one case, the owner of the barn offered to pay for initial shots and
blood tests. (I declined the offer, but thought it was awfully nice. I
met the woman years later in a social setting, and thanked her.) In the
other case, the vet did the feline leukemia test before handing the cat
over to us.
My parents live in Washington, DC. Years ago, one of the lonely
neighbors started leaving out food for the stray cats. Within a couple
of years, this nice residential neighborhood was over-run with feral
cats. Eventually, animal control officials came in and trapped the poor
things. I'm certain they were all destroyed.
(Perhaps you could explain the complexities of this problem to your
neighbor, or ask animal control officials to do so?)
Good luck.
donna
----- Original Message -----
From: Orangerose
Newsgroups: rec.gardens.ecosystems
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2000 3:51 AM
Subject: Cat in garden (a little OT)
> > Well, I'm not sure where else to post this, but I have a slight
dilemma, here. > My neighbor has been feeding a group of strays (about four cats) for
about > five years now. I've never had any problem with cats in the garden
since my > own housecat is rather territorial and keeps the rest of them away.
The last > few nights, one of the cats has been in heat. I really am inclined to
let the > cats do whatever they want, but she's decided that my cat (a neutered
male) is > the best choice for a father for her kittens, so I've been listening
to her > yowl all night for the last three nights. Even in the pouring rain
last night. > > There is a tom in the neighborhood, but she really is only interested
in my > cat. ~sigh~ > I also have to explain that the gardens in my block are "inside the
block"; > that is, the gardens are at the backs of the lots and the houses at
the front > so that the houses effectively make a wall around the block. The cats
here do > not come and go. (Except for the tom and I'm not sure how he gets
out...) > > This cat is normally very shy--maybe semi-feral--but she has a
flea-collar, so > someone at some point has taken care of her. The neighbor lady is out
of town > so I can't ask her if the cat is one of the local strays. > > My dilemma is this: > > Should I trap her (while she's friendly and in heat) and take her to
the SPCA > and have her neutered? (what if she belongs to someone? Is that > legal/ethical?) > > If I were to have her neutered, what then? Should I leave her with
the SPCA or > other animal shelter to be adopted (assuming she's adoptable), or
should I let > her have her recovery her and let her back outside after? Or should I
take > personal responsibility for her and adopt her myself? > > Or should I look for a way to dicourage her from using my garden as
stage for > her love life? Any ideas on how to do that? (Other than getting a
dog...) > > Or should I hope she'll shut up soon and let me sleep through the
night--and > then forget about it? > > I know this isn't one hundred percent about gardening, but I thought
this was > the best forum to ask about humane and sensitive ways to deal with
this kind of > issue. > > Thanks in advance, > > Kelly > >