Trap and Release

I e-mailed my lurking kitty problem to my cat writers list-serv and was informed I need to do a trap and release. This consists of my buying or borrowing a humane trap, baiting it, catching kitty, taking kitty to vet and paying for a spay or neuter (also checking to see if the cat is nursing, indicating kittens are present) and then releasing.  That is my task for the weekend then--finding a trap and instigating Operation Big-Ass Kitty Catch.

I was feeling a little "grrrrr" yesterday about the situation. It's not stressful, but it's just one more thing to add to the list, you know? Then I received an e-mail from a writer colleague I've met at annual Cat Writer's conferences. A somewhat shy woman with a huge heart and passion for saving animals and she-doesn't-even-know-how-good-she-is writing skills.

She's dealing with an incredibly heart-wrenching and painful situation regarding some cats she's trying to convince the city to rescue from a homeless man. He carries them around in locked containers on his bike and while he might feed them, the cats are suffering from being cramped, have urine scalds on their legs and have to rest in their own feces. No one is listening to her and she has been told in annoyance by more than one cop and city official, "Lighten up, lady. They're just cats." You can read the full story here: http://www.petsweekly.com/Stories/Hostages.html.

I admire the work of the woman who wrote this. I won't go into details because they're too horrifying to mention, but she rescues cats that have been abused and tortured. There are some sick f---ing people out there in the world who like to take out their aggression on innocent animals. I don't have the stomach or mental strength to deal with even once what she deals with on a regular basis. Thank God there are people like her in the world, willing to do what the rest of us shield our eyes from.

Everyone please say a prayer for the cats suffering in the above story.