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In a
message dated 6/10/2005 1:24:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
how the sanctuary where i lived/worked handled taking in
cats:
we did NOT list a street address anywhere, for reasons i've
mentioned
previously. it was our home as well as that of the cats;
the potential
for problems with neighbors tho we were licensed by the
state and in
compliance with local regulations; the very real problem
of dump offs;
the need to get our work done without constant
interruption from
people who just wanted to stop by. liability was
also an issue, tho
not the greatest concern.
while we
theoretically only took in FIVs and FeLVs from rescues and
shelters,
rather than individuals, once people knew of us, that wasn't
always
the case.
as long as we had room for the cats--which included
isolation space
for the first two weeks following arrival, we
accepted any FIV/FeLV
cats that were spayed/neutered, had the
requisite vaccinations, and
had been tested adequately (western blot
for FIV; IFA for FeLV).
we did NOT go out and get cats; we did
NOT meet people off-site: we
were too busy caring for the cats to do
that! we were NOT asking
people to donate their cats to us (tho
people would call and say they
wanted to do just that; funny, "cats"
was NEVER on our donation-needs
lists).
anyone who had a
legitimate reason to come to the sanctuary was given
directions--the
only restriction was that visits, including bringing a
cat into
sanctuary, had to be arranged in advance so that we could
make sure
someone would be there. and that other things weren't
scheduled at
the same time.
my favorite times were when people would come with
a cat, and leave
with it. that happened often enough with FIV cats to
let us know how
vital accurate information and education are. rarely,
people would
even take their FeLVs home with them when they learned
the facts about
that virus, but nowhere near as
often...
--
MaryChristine
Mary Christine,
I could have written the same story
about our sanctuary!!
Patti
