Yesterday around 12:30 I got a call from a man who said “you probably can’t help me but I feel like I have to call someone”. He continued to tell me that he was taking his morning walk at 7am and saw at the end of a driveway a cardboard carrier with cat in it with a note attached that said “Animal control”. He thought it must be a mistake but when he looked in sure enough… a beautiful Siamese kitty was inside. He left the cat there (!) and went home. All morning it was on his mind so he walked there again at lunch time…the cat was STILL sitting there in the box. He knocked on the door and was told by the person that he no longer wanted the cat and was told by county animal control to put the cat outside in a carrier before 8am for pick up. By the time the compassionate neighbor called me that poor cat had been sitting outside in a cardboard carrier for at least 5 1/2 hours!!!!! Of course I quickly put out an alert to find someone who lived near where the kitty was and got someone over there right away. Thankfully the kitty was OK and is now safe in a home. This situation was wrong in SO many ways. If you adopt an animal it is for life. You do not put him/her outside like a pile of trash. I remember when I was rescuing animals in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina that a family came back to their house and found their dog almost dead. Instead of taking her to teh vet they put her outside on the trash pile! Thankfully a neighbor called me and we rescued her and nursed her back to health.
Even if animal control, the police or anyone else tells you to do something that is not humane…do not do it! Just because animal control says it is OK to put an animal out in a box to be picked up…it is not. Imagine if it were a hot day..that cat would have been dead. Leaving a cat in a box at the end of the driveway also makes the cat vulnerable to people who steal animals to train fighting dogs.
I am so thankful that a received a call about this cat. I can’t imagine how long he would have sat in that stupid cardboard box with no food or water. The amazing part about this story is that because of the alert I put out to rescue the cat, I found the rescue group that originally adopted this kitty to the idiot who put him out on the driveway. The rescue group told me that the man is a VERY successful heart surgeon. They plan to sue him for what he did as he signed an agreement that if he EVER decided he did not want the cat he would have to give im back to the rescue group. Just goes to show you that being a heart surgeon does not assure you have a heart! Also shows you that brains and compassion don’t always go together.
IMPORTANT INFO: If you ever need to give up your dog or cat…first try to make the situation work. Email me for advise on ANY situation that is making you consider giving up your companion animal. Never just abandon your animal. Your animal has little chance of finding food and water. Also remember that animal shelters kill owner surrendered animals first. You animal has VERYÂ chance of making it out of a shelter alive. Please…remember that your animal is your family…do not give up on them!