Saturday, April 24, 2010

A Very Sad Post....

My heart is very heavy this morning. Those who follow my blog know that I dearly love animals. Currently I care for thirteen feral cats. Our yard is the place where stray cats seem to find their way. A neighbor across the street and several houses away was caring for two cats, but she moved away. *sigh* The female calico cat found her way to our yard. Every morning, she would sneak in and eat the food I'd put out. When I'd see her, I'd chase her away. I hoped she would find someplace else to call home because I knew she'd be having a litter of kittens this spring. Sure enough as the months warmed up, I could tell she was very pregnant. I felt sorry for her, but knew we couldn't handle more cats that would continue to perpetuate. With no way to catch her, I continued to shoo her away.

Day before yesterday, while in the back yard, I heard a new-born kitten's cry. It sounded like it came from the yard next to us. I told hubby that I figured Patches (I always name animals) had dropped her babies. Thankfully, not in our yard. Silly me. Why did I think it would matter? The animals would just be more feral cats in a subdivision foraging for food and continuing to perpetuate. I wish someone besides us would try to fix the situation.

Yesterday, when I came home from working at church, hubby told me he found the kittens under ornamental grass next to our pond. Just the following afternoon, I had trimmed that ornamental grass down, so they hadn't been there at that time. He said that he thought there were five and two were dead. So we went out with rubber gloves on and sure enough...there they lay. Three of the tiny kittens were dead. We removed them from the others. I decided to move the other two to an area at the back of the yard behind a lattice fence which is covered with vines. I figured Patches would come take the kittens away elsewhere.

But they continued to cry through the afternoon, so I went back to look at them. They were curled together in the sun with no protection at all. Since I knew it was going to rain, I had no choice but to move them back where their momma had left them, under the grass next to the pond.

Through the evening, I would hear their cries periodically. I hoped that the momma kitty had come to care for them, but my heart ached so badly because I didn't know what to do. We can't afford to have another yard full of unspayed and unneutered cats. I prayed for God to show me a way to handle the situation.

This morning I went out to feed our ferals and I walked to the pond very quietly to see how the kittens had fared. They were gone! I figured the momma had moved them someplace else. So, I felt better. At least they were being cared for. But, as I walked further around the pond, I saw one of the babies floating in the water. My heart sank. The poor little thing had managed somehow to get over the hurdle of flagstones and fell into the pond. I never did find the other one. I hope the momma moved it. I pray so.

It is so unfair. The poor little kittens do not ask to be brought into the world. They are innocent creatures. And this could be avoided if people would be more responsible with their pets and get them spayed/neutered. And, when a family moves, they shouldn't abandon their pets to fend for themselves in the world.

I cry for the unjustice. My heart is so heavy and burdened.

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