While investigating an abandoned house, I discovered about 8-12 cats living there. They all looked well-fed and friendly, but most were skittish and would hide in the rafters and duct-work. There was one kitty, however, that seemed thrilled to have me around. She followed me around the house, through the stable, and basically just acted like my own little tour guide. I tried to take a few pictures of her, but the lighting was poor and she didn't really like to hold still.
The story doesn't end here, though. Turns out that this house was scheduled to be demolitioned. I decided that I was going to try and help these cats.
The next day, I called the local animal shelter and explained the story. I was told that they wouldn't do anything, and when the house was torn down the cats would probably just scatter and find new homes. Then it was discovered that the house was located in a different district; maybe the new place would help.
I called the other animal shelter and told the story again. I was told that they would need to know the name of the owner to be able to contact him/her and get permission to enter the home and take the cats.
So I ended up making all kinds of phone calls, attempting to find the name of the company that had purchased the property to tear it down. The house didn't have a number on it, so I had to guess the address, which made it even harder to get information. It took me all day before I finally ended up speaking to a city planner, who was able to give me the exact address and the name and phone number of the owner. Success! The planner also told me that animal control had access to these records and that there was no reason that I should have spent all day making these calls.
I called the shelter and gave them the info, also chiding them for making me waste all that time. It was then that the girl on the line confessed that they probably wouldn't be able to do anything for the cats. I was appalled, and told them so. I mentioned that these were not feral cats and that they deserved to have homes with loving families. I told them that I didn't understand how they could leave them in these 0 to 10 degree temperatures to fend for themselves--and to create more cats. She said that she would talk to her manager and see what could be done.
I don't know if these kitties were ever helped. I'm afraid to go back to the house and see if they are there or not. Is that awful? I would much rather just believe that they were all helped, although I fear that isn't the case. I hate the fact that there are animals out there that have never known a loving family, especially when they obviously crave it so badly. I know that there are humans out there that suffer, too, but I don't feel like I can turn my back on these cats just because of that. It's just not fair.
by raspberrytart
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