the other thing i have to say, tho i think that tamara's comments weren't about rude ranch's conditions but about the other person's home, is that whomever said that cats are clean and neat has never lived with a large number of them....
our facilities at the sanctuary were extensive, and designed from the ground up with the state department of ag to be hygienic (ie, easily washable!), etc. in MI, you cannot have anything that isn't bleachable--no comfy furniture, no carpeting, etc., so that wasn't even an option. we had floors that were moisture-sealed, walls that were covered with washable vinyl panelling, little-tykes castles and forts and playgrounds for them to sleep in and on and around, kid's pools full of blankies, more litter boxes than you could count..... and no sooner had we completely cleaned the rooms than SOMEONE had thrown up, or had a hairball, or missed the litter box, or dumped over a food bowl, or sneezed all over the walls or the clean windows.... the more cats a group takes on, and the more medically compromised they are, the more likely it is that you are NOT going to find a place that will always pass a white-glove test. sometimes runs to the vet or medicating 40 cats takes precedence over cleaning the boxes, especially if there's a blizzard and your volunteers didn't show up. if you have a sanctuary for FeLVs, where cats regularly die, it's sometimes hard to find regular volunteers--it's hard to keep having your friends die on you, as we well know. sometimes you have to judge a sanctuary by the condition of the CATS and how happy they seem, not on how the housekeeping compares to your own, smaller-cat household. if the cats are contented and look well-fed and in as good a physical condition as they can be, given their diagnosis, well.... some sanctuaries ARE just warehouses, and one could ask if the cats are better off there than the alternative. we didn't take in housecats, because housecats didn't adjust well to living without the amenities to which they'd become accustomed. to the strays and ferals who'd had to live outdoors and fend for themselves, it was wonderful--food, a roof over their heads, people to cuddle with them when they wanted it, food, medical care when they needed it, food.... was it perfect? no. would i have done some things differently? of course. but it was DEFINITELY a better choice for these cats than euthanasia. On 2/5/07, Wolf, Leah R. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
It is my understanding that Bob and Kathy were living in and had as a shelter a few years ago a much smaller place than the very large house they have now. I had no problem making an appointment at our mutual convenience when I went to adopt a cat this past December. It looked very clean and the very many cats I saw looked well-cared for and content. The various climbers seemed well-contructed, just like you would see in a catalog. There is no question that Rude Ranch is a shelter and not a home and I believe that Bob and Kathy work hard to place the cats that come to them. My two cents. Leah ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of tamara stickler Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 10:30 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Rude Ranch -WARNING Yes, Rude Ranch does LOOK like a great place...BUT: I attempted to place a cat at Rude Ranch a few years back, committing to the monthly support fee needed to surrender. My first choice for the felv + stray I had rescued was an actual home, not an institution, so when a woman called and offered to give this cat a HOME, I jumped at the chance without visiting her place first (she came highly recommended by various rescues..), so I turned the spot that they had "made room for" down to place with this individual instead. When I got to her place, she, while very well intentioned, was an animal horder. She agreed to take fosters in from various organizations, (Grey Hound Rescue...Rude Ranch...etc..), where she cared for them on her farm, with her husband, "without any monetary support" from these rescues that depended on her (so she said). The garage where she was housing her felv+ cats (she had she had said at the time 5-by the time I got mine there, there were 10) was an absolutely FILTHY...dirt and hair everywhere...exposed insulation & beamwork, food bowls that looked as if they hadn't been washed in months...urine soaked everything..the smell was beyond deplorable....and it was the dead of WINTER. The "great levels" the cats had to climb on were rusty metal shelving. The floor was covered in plywood and while there were 3 space heaters in the garage, and it did have garage door windows...but it was aweful. As I told her I had turned down Rude Ranch even tho they had "just made a space for (Simms)" she interrupted..."Oh, that must be why I got this one from them the other day (pointing to a white persuain laying on a ratty blanket on one of the rusty shelves)." I had asked her if she received financial help for the cats they dumped on her, she didn't...and was a bit ticked to learn that they charge monthly for care...."I wonder if they are still charging for the ones they've brought me...or perhaps that's why I have them now, their people stopped paying???" I don't have intimate knowledge of the workings or Rude Ranch...but,,,the fact that if you are coming to visit they insist that you phone and schedule your visit a week before-hand (what they told me when I was considering using them for Simms) makes me wonder if they have to FIND the cat you surrendered before you come back to visit ????) I've had TOO many bad run-ins with WONDERFUL organizations to believe everything I see on tv or read in the paper. I'm sure they are all trying their best, but.... Rude Ranch may be wonderful...but I have to honestly wonder. fyi: I eventually placed Simms with another person in a REAL home environment.. . And don't get me wrong about her...she was/is trying her best...but dear God..you've GOT to know when to say when...Neither her or her husband could tell me how many cats and dogs they had housed on the property..."prop. just over a hundred". I have to wonder at rescue organizations that over-burdened themselves, are over-burdening other volunteers....to make themselves look good? T Nina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Leah, Thank you for the link to Rude Ranch. What a great place. Quite the inspiration. Nina Wolf, Leah R. wrote: > Phaewryn, > > The web address is http://www.ruderanch.org. Bob and Kathy Rude run > quite a place. Some of their cats wouldn't last a second at a > publicly-funded shelter due to medical diagnoses such as felv+ or > congenital or other disabilities. Bob and Kathy live at the "home" > with all of their furry children. > > > Leah > ----- Original Message ----- From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" > To: > Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 9:22 PM > Subject: Re: Bandit is NEGATIVE--Animal Planet (rude ranch) > > >> does rude animal ranch have a website? >> >> Phaewryn >> >> http://ucat.us >> Adopt a New England FIV+ cat: >> http://ucat.us/FIVadopt.html >> Special Needs Cat Links (and feline info library): >> http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html >> Declawing Creates SUFFERING, Please don't declaw! >> http://www.pawproject.com/kona.html > > > > ________________________________ Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.
-- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
