Re: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ]
Thanks for clearing that up because Iknow there were other who also thought this. We are very worried for the animals still looking for homes. I live in this area and with hundreds of volunteers and fosters and the hundreds of other cats not in Marlene"s carethe community is worried about the rest of the animals. I have heard from several people not to use Kitty Kind or deal with anyone from there and when I think about it and all the people that turned their backs to this group I worry what will happen to the animals who do need homes? There are people in that organization who are loving caring people who do offer their own home to some of these amazing animals where they are well taken care of healthy. Not everyone has living conditions like Kess did. I know everyone is mad at Kess as I am to, feel free to bring your animals and donate elsewherebut if you can lets try to get these cats adopted. They should not need to suffer for what Kess has done. Thanks for clearing that up Jenn, Mia[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Mia, A DNA noticemeans do not adopt TO this person, not do not adopt FROM them. No one is aiming to make the cats who survived this tragedy unadoptable, we just do not want anyone to adopt any MORE cats into this rescue's care. I think maybe you misunderstood what the DNA notice email meant. Jenn ~~~There are so many kitties in need of a home and by making it harder for them to get their cats adopted out doesn't help anyone. No virus found in this outgoing message.Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.15 - Release Date: 5/22/2005 Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site!
RE: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ]
Of course, the article doesnt really describe the condition of the living cats except that they were in one room. Certainly it is at the very least odd that someone would just dump the carcasses but then how much would it have cost to have each cremated. And if she couldnt afford the cremation, I doubt she could afford the vet bills. Ive never understood why the vet schools dont set up free or low-cost clinics for their students to help with this situation. It sounds like perhaps this is someone who got in way over their head As for mixing sick healthy cats, does FELV diagnosis automatically constitute sick Believe me, Im not trying to make excuses for her but when as I look for a home for my Big Boy, Ive talked to any number of people who are clearly in over their head. One person, highly recommended by several local rescue groups for taking their FELV cats, refused to tell me where he lived wanted to meet me in a parking lot to get Big Boy. Rescue groups apparently meet him at Petco give him their FELV kittens. While he said the reason for not telling me where he was was because people would dump animals made some sense, I was flabergasted that no legitimate rescue group had ever seen his home. He might be great but who would ever know! Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Cherie A Gabbert Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 11:06 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ] That is no excuse...I am appauld that anyone would stand up for this individual, she deserves the same treatment she has giving her supposed furry friends, If she treats her friends this way I would hate to be her enemy. I am utterly speechless that anyone would stand up for her and her organization, I say the volunteers should open a shelter themselves andKess should go to jail. KittyKind Ha that is a laugh, like the roach motel they check in and never check out...I am sick over this I would like to meet her in a dark alley. Sorry...usually I am more gentle that this...I am just so shocked and disgusted. Cherie Mia Nicer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi everyone!! My name is Mia and I am a fellow rescuer in the New York, New Jersey and Conn. area.I am not making an excuse for Marlene from Kitty Kind nor am I happy with the situation in which she has put the Kitty Kind organization but, I do know about and I am very familiar with this rescue group since it is in my area. I am not apart of this organization but please listen to what I have to say about it: This situation is extremely horrible and very unfortunate but in the end it will be this rescue group and the kitties that suffer. Please do not make it any harder for these cats to get adopted. This group has lots of volunteers and fosters who put inall their free time to helpsome of these and their own cats and have nothing to do with this situation nor did they know anything about it. I believe that the overflow is what led Marlene to this situation, again I am not making an excuse for anyone but please do not punish the many volunteers, fosters and kitties for this. There are so many kitties in need of a home and bymaking it harder for them to get their cats adopted out doesn't help anyone. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: DNA - Marlene Kess Kitty Kind Rescue, East Orange, NJ. Hundreds of dead cats found in yard. Original Message Subject: DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CAT RESCUE-in Orange, NJ Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 12:19:35 -0400 Hundreds of dead cats found in woman's yard E. Orange resident operates rescue agency Friday, May 20, 2005 BY BRIAN T. MURRAY AND KASI ADDISON Star-Ledger Staff Over two decades, Marlene Kess built a reputation in Manhattan as a caregiver of last resort for homeless and dying cats. If her rescue and adoption agency, KittyKind, couldn't place a sick animal, she took it home herself, overseeing its recuperation or caring for it until its death. Yesterday, authorities discovered what Kess' philosophy looked like in practice. Summoned to the woman's East Orange home by a neighbor complaining about a stench, city health inspectors found 48 cats inside the house -- 38 of them in one room -- and more than 200 dead cats stuffed into garbage bags in the back yard. The sight of so many decomposing corpses -- and the fetid odor they produced -- sickened animal-welfare officers and others who responded to the two-story home on State Street. Oh my God, it was awful, said Michael Fowler of the Associated Humane Societies, the state's largest shelter group. The smell was horrible. Kess -- the 56-year-old founder and executive director of KittyKind, which operates one of New York City's few no-kill shelters -- moved to East Orange from Manhattan in July. Dozens of cats, apparently, moved with her. More arrived while she
RE: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ]
Chris, I know exactly what you mean! When I was trying to place Simms, or several others for that matter, I've had people who refuse to tell me how many animals they hadwho wanted to meet elsewhereThen the one woman I placed him with for a bit (I'll call her L)was recommended by THREE rescue groups: Rude Ranch, Greyhound Rescue, (I forget the third one..) all had used and were STILL using her even though I don't believe any had actually been out to her home. She had SO many animals, that neither she nor herhusband knew how many they had! She was wonderful and loving but the place, although she had the best intentions, was a horrid mess - the filth, the stink! They truly seemed toLOVE the ones they hadbut they just were not physcally capable of doing all the work. If I HAD to guess, and they refused to let me see the rest of the farm, so I'm assuming from the noises and smells,I'd say they hadnearly 200 animals (I'm not counting farm animals, but foster dogs, cats). Apparently after speaking withL, Rude Ranch, who charges $200 per cat turned over and $50 or $60 a month there after for lifetime care, often sends many cats her way, without monetary compensation, she was stunned to learn the fees they charged. I believe (though I have no proof) that if the person who surrenders a FeLV cat fails to continue to pay the monthly cost, the animal was transfered to her. (I had arranged with Rude Ranch to take Simms, at first they didn't have any openings, once I agreed to the surrender fee and monthly maitenance...one week later they had an opening. I found out from L. that she had just taken another cat from Rude Ranch the same week thatthat opening became available. Plus, I was told by the RR owner, after I asked, that if I planned to visit, please give him at the least one week notice, pref. two before coming by.() Makes you wonder...would Simms have eventually been transfered to the foster home, and retrieved before I came to visit, even if I continued to pay? Needless to say, I found Simms a better home. It just goes to show that the Easiest way is usually NOT the best. I agree about dumping the dead cats, she really should have TRIED to get rid of them some way(Defenders of Animal Rights owner, was fined back in the late 80'sfor breaking into the Balto. Co. pound's dumpster and dumping the animal carcuses from his organiztion therebut hey, at least he tried to get rid of them..) Oh, and Chris...yes, in any rescuing organization, with the intention of adopting out theircharges,a FeLV + cat, even if outwardly healthy, SHOULD be considered sick (just because 1- no one really knows how easily transfered the illness is, 2- chances are good the rescue cannot afford to give vacinations to each of its charges). Defenders of Animal Rights, routinely told adopters that all its cats had been tested for FeLV andfeline aidsand vaccinated against it before being placed in the communial cat adoption rooms where they roamed free. Well, MOST of the cats,esp. if the owners did not leave the fulll $200 surrender maintance for life or until adoptedfee, were put down before the people made it back to their cars. While all that did make it to the cat room were given the routine rabies distemper vacs., NONE that I ever saw in 2years were tested for Felv or feline aids. Several complaints came back from people who had adopted from us, and their previously healthy cat was now infected as was the cat that they just adopted. Several times, both the cat and kitten rooms were wiped clean of felines and the whole mess started over again...and again.. As much as you want to trust people and organizations, you can never fully trust them to keep their words...test results can be doctored, or just lied about. ALWAYS have an animal tested before releasing among your current ones. NEVER assume an organization, no matter how good it sounds, or looks, or how touching the newsletters are, is completely on the up and up. Stories for newsletters are easily doctored...sapped up...created to bring the tear-jerk response that brings in the cash. Yes, many are truebut just as many are fiction. Donor, adopter beware...and the best way to help the animals...is to do it yourself. Sorry if that sounds cynical, but honestly, I'm only speaking from experience. TChris [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Of course, the article doesnt really describe the condition of the living cats except that they were in one room. Certainly it is at the very least odd that someone would just dump the carcasses but then how much would it have cost to have each cremated . And if she couldnt afford the cremation, I doubt she could afford the vet bills. Ive never understood why the vet schools dont set up free or low-cost clinics for their students to help with this situation. It sounds like perhaps this is someone who got in way over their head As for mixing sick healthy cats, does FELV diagnosis automatically
RE: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ]
Well, my vet has given me reduced rate but it is another company altogether who does cremations there are no discounts!!! (Im in NY). And I agree, I would not take in more cats than I could afford but I dont think people start out thinking theyll take more than they can handle. As for the guy in the parking lot, well, when I raised some questions to the few people who suggested him, I got more than a cold response! Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Cherie A Gabbert Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:04 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ] I agree to a point, but my vet and the local vets around here, would take deceased animals and get rid of the bodies for you, with no cost, and I have made some calls and I have not found an animal hospital or vet around me that would not take the animal from you. As for vet cost, if you can not afford it do not do it.I have 9 cats now and if I could not afford sick kitties or the vet bills, I would not have taken them. I have a humane society (I use that lightly) that is completly over run, I have often thought about building a facility to house sick kitties, or last chance cats, the cost of such an endeaver is my only down fall.big as it may be. I have gone into the humane society with cleaning supplies and offered to clean up the kennels and they were completely appauld me and said it was fine the way it is...let me tell you the stench is something horried. If there was a way and I am still looking I would definately put my money where my mouth is and help more that my 9.. The guy that would only meet you in a parking lot, needs to be investigated in my opinion that seems a little too fishy. Cherie Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Of course, the article doesnt really describe the condition of the living cats except that they were in one room. Certainly it is at the very least odd that someone would just dump the carcasses but then how much would it have cost to have each cremated. And if she couldnt afford the cremation, I doubt she could afford the vet bills. Ive never understood why the vet schools dont set up free or low-cost clinics for their students to help with this situation. It sounds like perhaps this is someone who got in way over their head As for mixing sick healthy cats, does FELV diagnosis automatically constitute sick Believe me, Im not trying to make excuses for her but when as I look for a home for my Big Boy, Ive talked to any number of people who are clearly in over their head. One person, highly recommended by several local rescue groups for taking their FELV cats, refused to tell me where he lived wanted to meet me in a parking lot to get Big Boy. Rescue groups apparently meet him at Petco give him their FELV kittens. While he said the reason for not telling me where he was was because people would dump animals made some sense, I was flabergasted that no legitimate rescue group had ever seen his home. He might be great but who would ever know! Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Cherie A Gabbert Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 11:06 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ] That is no excuse...I am appauld that anyone would stand up for this individual, she deserves the same treatment she has giving her supposed furry friends, If she treats her friends this way I would hate to be her enemy. I am utterly speechless that anyone would stand up for her and her organization, I say the volunteers should open a shelter themselves andKess should go to jail. KittyKind Ha that is a laugh, like the roach motel they check in and never check out...I am sick over this I would like to meet her in a dark alley. Sorry...usually I am more gentle that this...I am just so shocked and disgusted. Cherie Have a purrfect day Cherie
RE: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Or...
I hadnt even thought about that! Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:26 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Or... I agree very fishy. I wouldn't leave a kitty with him. The area I live in has a person who traps ferals and goes around to homes and asks for cats he says to keep on his farm to keep down rodents. He is selling them to a well known research facility at a large medical college. My friends and I make it a point to tell everyone we can what he is doing.
RE: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Or...
I totally agree with you... there are many legitimate reasons why he wouldn't want the traffic or risk the dumping I just felt that any rescue group that does regular business with him would have sent someone to see the place Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of TenHouseCats Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:54 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Or... devil's advocate here--damn, it's a pain having 4 planets in libra: but on the other hand! that NO one ever saw his facilities is indeed somewhat smelly. that he doesn't allow perfect strangers into his place is not something to imeediately judge by. many people who take in special-needs cats do so out of their own HOMES--they are NOT a public shelter, usually don't have the insurance to protect themselves, nor a desire to have folks they don't know know where they are. FeLV cats, especially, need as stress-free an environment as possible; having strangers coming in all the time does not meet my definition of that FeLV cats tend NOT to be adopted out, so for them, a sanctuary setting is THEIR forever home, as much as it is the human's who care for them. do NOT underestimate the dumping factor--and the role that cowardice/shame plays in dumping. most people who dump do NOT call for an appointment, nor knock on the door and say, i'm leaving a sick cat in a crate out in the snow at midnight--hope you find it in time! as most farm folk can tell you, even healthy cats are dumped on them all the time. there are only so many cats that ANY facility can take in; limiting access is one of the ways to prevent a bad situation from developing. neighbors are another very valid reason to limit access--even in places where there are no legal limits on the number of cats one can have, there are often technicalities that ordinary folk don't think about when starting to take in the unwanted--special-use permits, for example. amount of traffic is another issue--these days, anyone in this area with a lot of coming and going traffic is gonna be looked at as a possible meth-lab: a definite problem since cooking the ingredients gives off a cat-urine odor! and then there are the very real folks who just like to cause trouble--every hour spent dealing with them means an hour that the cats DON'T get ON THE OTHER HAND volunteers and rescues who regularly work with a facility SHOULD be allowed to see the place! the general public is one thing, even a group that a facility has never worked with before might be asked to meet off-site initially. people need to investigate the shelters/rescues/sanctuaries they relinquish cats to, just as the shelters/rescues/sanctuaries research the folks they adopt to. there is NO way to completely weed out the good liars and the psychos, but both sides need to do their homework. which means talking to a NUMBER of people and groups--i don't know of any group that doesn't have SOMEONE who hates them, often because they were denied adoption rights. or people who find fault with EVERY organization they contact we do the best we can we have to communicate with compassion and honesty amongst ourselves, for the good of the critters... -- MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
RE: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind-CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ]
I remember the saga with Simms I know Rude Ranch as I considered them for Big Boy I worked with abused/neglected children for many years and believe me, I know what people do to children much less to animals who are even lower on the totem pole!! Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of tamara stickler Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:55 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: RE: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind-CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ] Chris, I know exactly what you mean! When I was trying to place Simms, or several others for that matter, I've had people who refuse to tell me how many animals they hadwho wanted to meet elsewhereThen the one woman I placed him with for a bit (I'll call her L)was recommended by THREE rescue groups: Rude Ranch, Greyhound Rescue, (I forget the third one..) all had used and were STILL using her even though I don't believe any had actually been out to her home. She had SO many animals, that neither she nor herhusband knew how many they had! She was wonderful and loving but the place, although she had the best intentions, was a horrid mess - the filth, the stink! They truly seemed toLOVE the ones they hadbut they just were not physcally capable of doing all the work. If I HAD to guess, and they refused to let me see the rest of the farm, so I'm assuming from the noises and smells,I'd say they hadnearly 200 animals (I'm not counting farm animals, but foster dogs, cats). Apparently after speaking withL, Rude Ranch, who charges $200 per cat turned over and $50 or $60 a month there after for lifetime care, often sends many cats her way, without monetary compensation, she was stunned to learn the fees they charged. I believe (though I have no proof) that if the person who surrenders a FeLV cat fails to continue to pay the monthly cost, the animal was transfered to her. (I had arranged with Rude Ranch to take Simms, at first they didn't have any openings, once I agreed to the surrender fee and monthly maitenance...one week later they had an opening. I found out from L. that she had just taken another cat from Rude Ranch the same week thatthat opening became available. Plus, I was told by the RR owner, after I asked, that if I planned to visit, please give him at the least one week notice, pref. two before coming by.() Makes you wonder...would Simms have eventually been transfered to the foster home, and retrieved before I came to visit, even if I continued to pay? Needless to say, I found Simms a better home. It just goes to show that the Easiest way is usually NOT the best. I agree about dumping the dead cats, she really should have TRIED to get rid of them some way(Defenders of Animal Rights owner, was fined back in the late 80'sfor breaking into the Balto. Co. pound's dumpster and dumping the animal carcuses from his organiztion therebut hey, at least he tried to get rid of them..) Oh, and Chris...yes, in any rescuing organization, with the intention of adopting out theircharges,a FeLV + cat, even if outwardly healthy, SHOULD be considered sick (just because 1- no one really knows how easily transfered the illness is, 2- chances are good the rescue cannot afford to give vacinations to each of its charges). Defenders of Animal Rights, routinely told adopters that all its cats had been tested for FeLV andfeline aidsand vaccinated against it before being placed in the communial cat adoption rooms where they roamed free. Well, MOST of the cats,esp. if the owners did not leave the fulll $200 surrender maintance for life or until adoptedfee, were put down before the people made it back to their cars. While all that did make it to the cat room were given the routine rabies distemper vacs., NONE that I ever saw in 2years were tested for Felv or feline aids. Several complaints came back from people who had adopted from us, and their previously healthy cat was now infected as was the cat that they just adopted. Several times, both the cat and kitten rooms were wiped clean of felines and the whole mess started over again...and again.. As much as you want to trust people and organizations, you can never fully trust them to keep their words...test results can be doctored, or just lied about. ALWAYS have an animal tested before releasing among your current ones. NEVER assume an organization, no matter how good it sounds, or looks, or how touching the newsletters are, is completely on the up and up. Stories for newsletters are easily doctored...sapped up...created to bring the tear-jerk response that brings in the cash. Yes, many are truebut just as many are fiction. Donor, adopter beware...and the best way to help the animals...is to do it yourself. Sorry if that sounds cynical, but honestly, I'm only speaking from experience. T Chris
RE: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Or...
Thats horrible. What a horrible man. that is why shelters and rescue groups suggest never giving a cat away for free to somone you don't know.Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hadnt even thought about that! Chris [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:26 PMTo: felvtalk@felineleukemia.orgSubject: Re: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Or... I agree very fishy. I wouldn't leave a kitty with him. The area I live in has a person who traps ferals and goes around to homes and asks for cats he says to keep on his farm to keep down rodents. He is selling them to a well known research facility at a large medical college. My friends and I make it a point to tell everyone we can what he is doing. Mia Nicer Phone: (646) 226-3277 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]__Do You Yahoo!?Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com image/jpeg
Re: Please read this response!! URGENT:DO NOT USE-KittyKind -CATRESCUE-in Orange, NJ]
Mia, A DNA noticemeans do not adopt TO this person, not do not adopt FROM them. No one is aiming to make the cats who survived this tragedy unadoptable, we just do not want anyone to adopt any MORE cats into this rescue's care. I think maybe you misunderstood what the DNA notice email meant. Jenn ~~~There are so many kitties in need of a home and by making it harder for them to get their cats adopted out doesn't help anyone. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.15 - Release Date: 5/22/2005
