Scratching my head
@sallypup (57888)
Centralia, Washington
February 13, 2017 3:32pm CST
I need to figure something out but what??
I live in an impoverished county. Or at least a county that can not get its act together on taking care of animals. No low income spay and neuter clinic. Nada.
Today we were driving back home and there were two quite young looking neighbor cats getting very acquainted with a very young girl cat. The neighbors and their lack of brains with cats worry me something fierce. Last week we drove by their place and I am not at all joking when I say I saw at least fifteen cats there.
This of course is what happens when you do not care for your cats. I just stopped an encounter with our baby bobcat- spayed gal- that had started with a neighbor cat. It had come over to our place to have an unfriendly chat with our gal.
I dread the idea of all those cats- and more and more- coming to bother our wild birds and our cat population. I dread the idea of Vet bills and diseases etc.
Our animal shelter demands a 20.00 fee for each stray that is brought into them. For food and care but hey, how does that help with such a monster mess like what is going on in my world??
I love cats. Deeply. And yet cats in my kingdom must be spayed or neutered to live here. I'm not sure what to do. I feel quite alone in my county. Again.
9 people like this
10 responses
@celticeagle (159058)
• Boise, Idaho
14 Feb 17
Our animal shelter here has a program for spay and neuter. And they have a monthly food program. If you want to help why don't you do some internet research and find where the closest animal shelter is that does spaying and neutering. Then make up some flyers with their info and why pet owners need to get this done. Leave them where appropriate. At least you are putting out the word.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159058)
• Boise, Idaho
15 Feb 17
@sallypup ..........That's sound interesting. Clinics not being convenient can be a problem that's for sure.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
15 Feb 17
@celticeagle In the winter especially.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
15 Feb 17
@celticeagle Moses Lake is a weird little place- about 2 hours from any where. And that anywhere is where the lower cost spaying and neutering clinics are. I'm thinking about writing up a piece for the little paper that wants submissions from me- along the lines of 'what its like to be a cat going into the animal shelter.
1 person likes this
@antonbunot (11091)
• Calgary, Alberta
13 Feb 17
Your post reminds me of my late father . . . One of his occupations was spayer/neutering (Is there a verb to neuter . . . ?
) . . His other occupation was plumber. I used to watch him neutered male cows (bulls). One time he was gored by a bull he neutered. Thank heavens, his injury was not that bad.
) . . His other occupation was plumber. I used to watch him neutered male cows (bulls). One time he was gored by a bull he neutered. Thank heavens, his injury was not that bad.1 person likes this
@antonbunot (11091)
• Calgary, Alberta
13 Feb 17
@sallypup O, yeah, we got a small farm when I was a kid.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
14 Feb 17
@antonbunot Same here for part of my childhood. Twenty acres then when us kids wanted to look for trouble we'd trespass on a rancher behind us- over 2 thousand acres there.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
13 Feb 17
@antonbunot Your father was a farmer. Bulls are hard animals to deal with. A Hereford (beef) cow tried to stomp me into the ground when I was a teenager. Lucky for me our little dog barked like a crazy dog and bit at the bull's nose, making the bull pay attention to him, not me, plus the wild barking got my Dad over to see what was going on.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (215428)
• Chile
13 Feb 17
In my city, in poor neighborhoods they do it for free.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
13 Feb 17
@marguicha That's fantastic. And you then also have less diseases as well as too many animals. It is a public health issue not just an animal lover issue. I wish my part of the world would see it like that.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (215428)
• Chile
13 Feb 17
@sallypup When there are many stray dogs and cats there is a health issue.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
13 Feb 17
check around, and ask the vets, sometimes there are state agencies that can help with trap and released spay and neuters
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
14 Feb 17
@sallypup I do indeed. I found something in oregon though, that anyone in the state could apply for (they helped pay for spay and neuters), but I think I was lucky there
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
13 Feb 17
@Jessicalynnt: East side of the mountains. You probably know what I mean.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
13 Feb 17
@Maluse I'm curious about something. Where I live in my state, I am East of a mountain range. East side people are not as educated or as citified as the West side. They generally have a whole other attitude about animals, especially cats, than the West side people. This side, the East side, is quite backward on such matters. Do you have such pockets in Germany? We're the poor side, the side that does not eat as healthy and has less vegetarians than the West side.
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
14 Feb 17
@sallypup People in rural areas are different from big city dwellers. But the differences are small and dwindling due to people moving much more than they used to do in former decades and also thanks to TV and other media.
Besides, Germany is a densely populated country in most parts. There aren't many areas where only few people live.
You should have mentioned how high the mountain range is. We don't have very high mountain ranges in Germany which really cut people off.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
14 Feb 17
@MALUSE There are two highways that go from my state to the other state- both go through the Cascade mountains. The one used most is about 3 thousand feet high and the other is higher- with a twisty, steep two lane highway to deal with not a 4 lane one like the other. There is another one, too, but that is north and is closed in the winter cause it truly is north. Steep and very snow bound- gorgeous scenery, though!
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
14 Feb 17
I can't even imagine that. Here people would be prosecuted for being a danger to other responsible pet owners. I don't know what to tell you but I think that getting a reporter involved, even from the other side of the mountain, might be the way to go or contact the national ASPCA.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57888)
• Centralia, Washington
14 Feb 17
@BelleStarr A reporter is a good idea. Maybe I can come up with something on this line to submit to the little paper that is accepting my work.
1 person likes this
@paigea (35693)
• Canada
16 Feb 17
Cats are for mice out here in the country. Our neighbour gets hers fixed though. One of them did not like his job so he moved over here. We have had cats dropped off on the road and managed to find them homes with children. That may have been a good thing or not, we don't really know. 
I really have no answers to this cat population explosion either.
We have had cats dropped off on the road and managed to find them homes with children. That may have been a good thing or not, we don't really know. I really have no answers to this cat population explosion either.1 person likes this
