Re: OT:frustrated w "throw away Pets"

[Nina]

Karen, My, my, you are dealing with a lot of changes!  You must be so stressed out over all of it.  Losing contact with your daughter must be driving you crazy!  Having the wedding plans fall through at the same time, (even if it's the best course of action), having to move, OMG!!  Take a deep breath and resolve yourself to having faith that after all this turmoil has settled down, you'll come out the other side stronger and more at peace than ever.  Patti's suggestions were excellent, I'm sure you'll be able to find someplace.  I don't think I'd be forthcoming with exact numbers :).  Very few of us share that information with the general public!  You can tell the prospective landlords what your situation is and that you are "fostering" the babies and are looking for good homes.  Whenever anyone comes to visit at my house, most of the cats scatter anyway, I only have one or two that will meet and greet, so as long as the landlord doesn't live on the property too, they might never know how many you actually have.  Try to have patience with the humans in your life that don't understand how easy it is to quickly find yourself with enough cats to qualify as a "crazy cat lady".  You didn't purposely go looking for all these cats, you were trying to help as a foster parent and then, because you have a heart, found yourself in your current predicament.  One of my oldest and dearest friends just tried using logic to dissuade me from having so many animals.  I'm afraid I lost my temper and let him have it.  Here's the paste of the email I sent him, you may get a smile from it knowing that you are not alone: I know you are coming from a place of love and concern for me with this advice.  I'm not even saying that it doesn't make sense.  My dilemma is that I am not capable of turning a blind eye to the suffering endured by the innocent creatures that are fortunate enough to find their way to my door.  I don't know how to harden my heart to the pitiful cries for food and medical assistance.  I can't turn my back on an animal who is suffering.  The image of those animals would not allow me to close my eyes at night wondering how long it took for them to starve to death, or if they suffered after being hit by a car.  They are not capable of helping themselves.  The pitiful resources available to them, such as so called "shelters" are nothing more than vehicles of death and misery for more than 90% of the ones that are "rescued" by animal control.  We have thumbs, they don't; we control our environment, they don't.  It is due directly to human irresponsibility and apathy that they find themselves in their pathetic circumstances.  I can't even do what most people do, I can't think to myself, oh someone else will help them.  Even if a stray animal were noticed, no one in this neighborhood would be kind enough to help.  They aren't even responsible for their "own" pets.  I wouldn't constantly be finding myself in this position if they were. You must know me well enough to understand how I feel...  Just because they are souls of a different species does not make them any less worthy of compassion and respect, sometimes, maybe even most times, they are more worthy than the bipeds I meet.  So, while I appreciate the fact that looking at my life from the outside seems to yield an easy answer, "just say no", it doesn't work very well from where I'm sitting.  Thanks for the 2 cents, but I need at least a buck fifty.  Sorry, if I sound harsh, but you've pressed one of my buttons with this.  Everything you say is reasonable, the trouble is that my world and the desperate need involved in it is not.  I fully realize that what I am doing is not working.  I need to find alternative solutions that would allow me to help while at the same time maintaining my sanity and financial resources.  The only thing I've been able to come up with is finding other humans that feel as strongly about our animal friend's plight as I do, and then of course trusting them enough to do their part.  This is so much easier said than done.  Wish me good fortune, I'm going to need all the luck I can get. clarissa- Floyd wrote: hi everyone, i dont post much but try to read all the emails. moste i either dont understand the heath issues your dealing with as we havent gone through much yet or sit and wish there was something i could do to help.  i keep thinking about asking rachel if another body looking through the garage would help find those kittens. she isnt too far away for me to drive out for a day. i havent been able to find a soulution for my issues yet and i guess taking some kind of action might help me not to get depressed over my own crap.   ive run into a situation that drives home part of why theres so many animals  for those of you who do rescues. when i first found this group and decided to keep the 8 kittens we had left, i was engaged and looking for a house to purchase in another area w the finance. i thought it was safe to adopt a pet or as it turned out .. 8 .  since then my 18 yearold daughter has left (hassent graduated yet) and refuses contact w me, the fiance and i have broken up and im going to have to rent. finding a place in the new area that will allow pets is starting to seem imposible. prospective landlords sugest i get rid of the cats. even the ppl i know in the area think i should get rid of the cats. no one has any sugestion on who would take them other than the pound as if its a "cure all" solution. some of the ppl i know even sugested putting them down since a pound would anyway. this whole idea of "throw away pets" frustrates me.  the common thought that someone else will take care of an animal they toss on the street or that the animals can survive on their own is ludicras. i figured ya'll would understand my frustration especially when even the ppl that know me dont get it. the fiance cant even take his cat with him as he works out of town 2-3 days at a time but he will help with food costs and some of the future vet bills if i keep Salem for him. i still have a couple of months to continue looking before i have to move and im trying to stay posative. i just know that trying to find homes for "the herd" would be next to imposible as well as break our hearts. its not a solution im willing to consider yet and hope i dont end up having to. thank you all for being patient with me and letting me vent. Karen ,Pogo,Teddy,Stitch,Oreo,Salem,Bandit,Boots,Houdini PS: i find the group such as inspiration. your all amazing with everything you do to help these cats no matter where any of them are.