Conference misery::feline_v1

    Why not capture them and bring them to a Humane Society??  At least
    that way, they might have a chance on finding new homes and get
    spayed at the same time.
    
    Sandi (Lightning's, DejaVu's & Thunder's mom)
    
    

    The Humane Society in Santa Clara doesn't even really try and find
    homes for the wild cats that are brought in or picked up.  If a
    cat can't be handled, it's more or less doomed.  The reason being,
    of course, that there is still an overabundance of unwanted house
    pets that they have up for adoption.  They did tell his mother that
    if she brings the cats in to be spayed, she just has to pay for
    one of them and the others will be free.  So I guess that answers
    one question... they will spay them.  I suppose she could keep them
    in the garage until they recover.
    
    -Mary
    
    

    Why don't you call up the Humane Society and ask them what kind
    of post-operative care the cats will need?  My fuzzy recollection
    from when the female cat next door was spayed is that she might
    have to keep them confined for a couple of days and then take them
    back in in about ten days to have the stitches removed.  (I wonder
    if self-dissolving stictches can be used?)  My recollection may
    be incorrect, however.
    

    
    	I don't see why a vet wouldn't spay a cat as long as he knew
    	he was going to get paid...  Also, I would guess that any GOOD
    	animal person (vet, humane society worker, ASPCA worker, etc.)
    	would be all for having these animals spayed.
    
    	I would guess that the most concern would be for the removal
    	of the stitches.
    
    	As for taking the KITTENS to a humane society, the humane society
    	in Lowell, MA can't get enough kittens to satisfy the demands
    	for good kittens in the area.  Taking any kittens there is as
    	good as finding adoptive parents -- without the hassles.
    
    	Joe Oppelt

    We stopped by the Humane Society yesterday morning on the way home
    from work.  The woman in the spay clinic said that yes, they would
    spay wild cats.  We just have to bring them in one at a time,
    preferably in a trap.  She said they use disolvable sutures so they
    don't have to come back to have them removed, and she recommended
    leaving the cat in the garage overnight.
    
    The number of kittens there right now is overwhelming.  They overflowed
    into what used to be the puppy room (now occupied by kittens, cats
    and rabbits.)  On top of this, there was a line stretching almost
    across the room with MORE people bringing in kittens.  GRRR... why
    are these people so pigheaded about getting their pets "fixed"?
    
    -Mary
    
    

    Usually vets prefer to use non-dissolving sutures for the female
    because the stitches are more likely to hold up when the cat attempts
    to chew them (which almost invariably happens).  The female's innards
    are likely to drop out if the stitches are torn or broken.  The
    non-dissolving sutures are tougher than the dissolvable kind.  It
    is generally the male who gets the dissolving type.
    
    The vets generally recommend that the animals are kept away from
    dirt or kitty litter for a week or so, because the animals risk
    infection.  If you can clean the litter box after every use then
    it's okay to use kitty litter, but the vets say that it's best to
    use shredded newspaper.
    
    Wild animals are likely to kind of go berzerk, especially if confined,
    so be prepared for nightly noise if you keep them in your garage.
    Also, a wild animal, who has been fixed can be considered "wounded"
    and dangerous.  Excercise caution when entering an enclosed area
    with them. 
    
    
    Last, but not least, the Humane Society will definitely put an animal
    to sleep if not claimed within a certain period of time.  Adult
    wild animals are more susceptible to being put to sleep by the H.S.
    than domesticated animals are.  I suggest taking a trip to visit
    the shelter before committing any animal.  If the shelter has a
    large number of animals chances are more than 80% of them will die
    within three days.  Most people don't like to get their new pets
    from the shelter; it's a horrible place to visit.  In some shelters
    the people who staff them are next to monsterous.  If you're trying
    to give away an animal, try ANYTHING else before trying the Humane
    Society.

    Re: .6
    
    Sasha from next door was out roaming around with no apparent ill
    effects in the dirt and so on within a few days after her spaying.
    Cats seem to heal faster than humans.  I would think the vet would
    know what's best in terms of dissolving vs. non-dissolving.
    
    Certainly there are well run shelters staffed by caring people,
    such as the Peninsula Humane Society near here in San Mateo, Calif.
    I know several people who would _always_ go to a shelter if they
    were "in the market" for a cat, under the assumption that the cats
    there were most in need of adoption.  It is certainly also true
    that when shelters are crowded, animals can only be kept for a few
    days before being euthanized.
    







                                         

    Mary, you might try contacting Miller's Pet Adoption Center (I got 
    Bailey from them).  They take in animals in need and try to find 
    them homes.  They may request a monetary donation for taking animals
    (I don't know for sure).  They provide medical care and when they
    find a new home for a pet the ask for enough money from the new
    owner to cover medical expenses for any treatment or care the animal
    has received.  (I got lucky, Bailey only had to have her 1st shots
    so the cost was only $3.00).
    
    They have an annex at the Flea Market where they have some of the
    animals on display during the weekend.  This is where I picked up
    Bailey (it was love at first sight).  They also have their main
    location in Campbell.  The Flea Market location was clean and all 
    the pets I saw when I was there looked healthy. 
    
    I haven't had any contact with this place for the last 2 years so
    I'm not speaking from recent experience, but it might be worth a
    try.
    
    Jan

    Thanks, Jan.  When we were at VIP Pets dropping off two of the kittens,
    a woman gave me the name of a couple in Palo Alto who also take
    in pets.  Unfortunately, I left the name at home.  We're still going
    the pet store route for now... with marginal success.
    
    Thursday, we took four of the kittens to the pet store out at
    Eastridge.  What a fiasco!  They have a vet there once a week who
    checks out the animals prior to their taking them.  They passed
    the vet check, but they had fleas.  Off we went to Ron's mother's
    house to give them baths.  No problem with the baths, these former
    little terrors are now angels!  (uh huh)  Back to the pet store...
    halfway into the parking lot:  "what's that awful smell?"  One of
    them (and it had to be the white one) had a little "accident".
    Back to mummy's for another bath.  At the pet store, they checked
    them out again.  No fleas this time, but they (the kittens) seem
    to have shrunk in the last couple of hours.  Now they didn't want
    them because "they're too small".  So they're back in my room eating
    Kitten Chow in a desperate attempt to make them grow larger.  I
    have to admit, compared to the other kittens they had for sale,
    they are small, but those kittens had to have been at least two
    or three weeks older!  Oh well, I've gotten so attached to them
    I don't mind having them around another couple of weeks.  There's
    still three I can't even handle yet.
    
    I'm really looking forward to buying a place of my own... maybe
    I can start my own adoption agency.  I'm sure that George and Hobbes
    would have something (negative) to say about that.  I'm keeping
    the kittens separate from the other two, but the times they've seen
    them Hobbes thinks he's looking at a great new kind of cat toy (the
    edible variety) and George just gives off this low growl and glares.
    
    -Mary