Well this sounds like a very costly lesson for you, your friend, but esp for Marmalade. There are
some details missing from the story and I'm a bit confused. Why, if you were interested in helping
this cat did you and your friend decide to call animal control in the first place? What did you
think was going to happen when you told them you had a feral cat in a trap and asked them to come
and get it? An owner relinquished cat has very little chance of making it out alive from a kill
"shelter", esp during kitten season when there are so many looking for homes, a feral cat
has even less of a chance. I would pray that since you have made it so clear to the staff at the
shelter that you want to help this cat that they would take pity on him and release him to you, but
I doubt that is going to happen unless you come up with some sort of subterfuge, or get very, very
insistent. It may already be too late. If it were me and I was ready to make a life-long
commitment to Marmalade, I'd find someone from my neighborhood that hasn't already been involved to
go with me to the shelter and claim that Marmalade belongs to them. I'd tell them that I found out
that he is an "outside cat" and here's his owner. There will be fines to pay, and they
may still refuse to let you have him, but at this point it's probably your best chance of saving
his life.
I can tell from the few previous posts I've read from you that you are a caring
person and would not have set all this in motion if you had known your
shelter's policies. Perhaps this experience will turn you into an advocate for
feral and stray cats and in Marmalade's name you will save others from a
similar experience. Please educate yourself on TNR and other things you can do
to champion the cause of feral/stray cats. I don't know the sort of person you
are, but if you are really willing to get involved you can turn your
frustration over this into a benefit by working to change your local shelter's
policies. Some of our most important lessons come at a very high price. I'm
praying that somehow this story ends up having a happy ending. I'm sorry for
the pain you must be going through, and I'm very sorry for Marmalade. Please
let us know what happens.
Nina
Hello everyone,
Several of you here know my story about trapping an
orange and white cat , whom I named Marmalade. The cat
was trapped this last Sunday night in my personal
trap. The cat was then transported to our local
shelter by a policeman. When the cat was turned over,
he became the property of the county shelter...He was
trapped at my friend's house, together we decided to
call the officer...
