This blog post is contributed by Michelle Williams, a San Jose Animal Advocates volunteer.
Every single day, things happen that affect the way we think, the way we behave, the way we feel… and most of the time, we are hardly aware. If you ask me when animal welfare became personal, I can tell you exactly when that happened.
The date was May 15, 2010 – this is the story of my “turning point”.
It was 10am on a Saturday morning and my husband came into the house muttering something about kittens in the backyard. This wasn’t your typical Saturday conversation over coffee. We have no pets, and there was certainly no reason why there should be newborn kittens behind our air conditioning unit.
I knew I had to do something and since the feral cat population is a sore subject for my husband, I also knew that would not include bringing them into our home. After placing an ad on Craigslist, I realized that I may be attracting the wrong kind of attention. So, I looked up information for a *local shelter, went and found a box and a soft fuzzy blanket. Let me just mention – for such little creatures, those little teeth were sharp!
Every single day, things happen that affect the way we think, the way we behave, the way we feel… and most of the time, we are hardly aware. If you ask me when animal welfare became personal, I can tell you exactly when that happened.
The date was May 15, 2010 – this is the story of my “turning point”.
It was 10am on a Saturday morning and my husband came into the house muttering something about kittens in the backyard. This wasn’t your typical Saturday conversation over coffee. We have no pets, and there was certainly no reason why there should be newborn kittens behind our air conditioning unit.
I knew I had to do something and since the feral cat population is a sore subject for my husband, I also knew that would not include bringing them into our home. After placing an ad on Craigslist, I realized that I may be attracting the wrong kind of attention. So, I looked up information for a *local shelter, went and found a box and a soft fuzzy blanket. Let me just mention – for such little creatures, those little teeth were sharp!
Several days later, I called the shelter to enquire about trapping feral cats and asked how the kittens were doing. I was told they were euthanized… I was beyond heartbroken. The reality of the situation was that the kittens were unable to eat on their own and would have required around the clock care. At that weight, the kittens needed a foster “meowmie” to bottle feed and teach the kittens how to eliminate.
The weeks that followed continued to break my heart over and over as the momma cat repeatedly came into my back yard looking for her kittens. At one point, she brought another cat with her as if to say “I swear I left them here! Please help me find them!”
Once I let myself off the hook, I decided to try and make a difference.
Every shout begins with a voice. This is mine.
Adopt. Foster. Spay. Neuter.
* prewean kittens that are brought to our area shelters are typically euthanized. If the mother is still around, the best thing you can do is leave the kittens with their mother until they are old enough to eat on their own. There are wonderful resources such as Itty Bitty Orphan Kitty (IBOK Rescue's) Prewean packet (free at all Bay area shelters and Pet Food Express stores) and video. These resources can help you care for the prewean kittens until they are old enough to eat on their own, and then able to be adopted into a permanent home. Monthly classes on how to care for prewean kittens will be given at Humane Society Silicon Valley, and they are always looking for kitten foster parents. Read about their foster program, and save a kitten, save the world!
The weeks that followed continued to break my heart over and over as the momma cat repeatedly came into my back yard looking for her kittens. At one point, she brought another cat with her as if to say “I swear I left them here! Please help me find them!”
Once I let myself off the hook, I decided to try and make a difference.
Every shout begins with a voice. This is mine.
Adopt. Foster. Spay. Neuter.
* prewean kittens that are brought to our area shelters are typically euthanized. If the mother is still around, the best thing you can do is leave the kittens with their mother until they are old enough to eat on their own. There are wonderful resources such as Itty Bitty Orphan Kitty (IBOK Rescue's) Prewean packet (free at all Bay area shelters and Pet Food Express stores) and video. These resources can help you care for the prewean kittens until they are old enough to eat on their own, and then able to be adopted into a permanent home. Monthly classes on how to care for prewean kittens will be given at Humane Society Silicon Valley, and they are always looking for kitten foster parents. Read about their foster program, and save a kitten, save the world!
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