HARD CHOICES…

I have said it so many times, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes when you are involved in rescue/animal welfare/TNR etc. Many times you don’t hear about it for a variety of different reasons… it’s too painful to talk about, we don’t want to be judged for the decisions we have to make, or we try to stay positive and not talk about the bad stuff. Those are just a few of the reasons you hear mostly the good stories.

When I decided I wanted to start blogging and documenting my experiences, I made a decision that I wanted to share a lot MORE. The good, the bad and the ugly. Hopefully, not to discourage anyone to get involved in whatever facet they can, but to shed light on how badly these animals need us.

I recently started a TNR (trap, neuter, return) job. The caretaker said she thought there were about 8 cats. I recently trapped cat 23. She told me about this cat who had an injured leg. She said that it seems the leg had healed and she was getting around just fine, hopping along without using that leg. I knew I had to trap this cat QUICKLY and get her medical attention.

I think she was the 11th cat I trapped on this job. I was absolutely shocked to see she had an ear tip (when we spay and neuter a feral cat, a portion of the tip of their ear is cut off while they are under anesthesia. That is for identifying that they have already been spayed or neutered). I examined her and saw an open wound on her leg and decided she needed to be seen by a vet. When we do TNR, if a cat has an ear tip, we just release them. The non-profit that I trap with is strictly TNR, but I knew if I brought this cat in, they would agree that she needed to be seen by a vet. And they did, of course.

I got a phone call from the director while she was still at the clinic with this cat. They had to put her under to examine her leg (for everyone’s safety) and said it was VERY bad. It was an old fracture and this cat was suffering. She said I had 2 options. 1. Euthanasia or 2. Amputate the leg (but they wouldn’t do it if she was 100% feral). In normal circumstances, I would say amputate the leg. This circumstance is different. We are talking about a feral cat. A feral cat can not survive on the harsh streets without all of their limbs. They need to be quick! To dart cars, predators, run from fights etc. After an amputation, the cat would need to be on kennel rest to heal and I would also have to administer antibiotics. In fact, the vets wouldn’t even amputate on a feral cat because her quality of life would be so poor.

But, I wasn’t ready to just throw in the towel and give up on this poor cat. It wasn’t her fault she was born to this life with horrible circumstances. I decided to bring her home to observe her. It was hard to get a good read on her in the trap (some cats are just like that, they are beyond scared, so they just freeze in a trap).

I borrowed a space heater and rigged a couple of kennels in my garage to stage her and observe her (don’t judge on how horrible it looks, I did the best I could with what I had LOL). 

My thought process…. best case, she’s not feral. I would have her leg amputated, then foster her and find her a home. Second best case, she’s only semi feral, I can have her leg amputated and work with her to try and socialize her. Another option, she’s feral, but not “mean”, I can have her leg amputated and hopefully find her a SAFE indoor home that would understand her needs and be fine with just letting her be and living the rest of her life indoors. Or, if I absolutely had to, keep her myself. Absolute worst case, she was the mean feral type that was a danger to people and she would have to be euthanized. No matter what the outcome, this cat at least deserved a chance.

So, she was set up in my garage. She had a warm, safe place with plenty of food and water. From the moment I transferred her into the kennel, I knew it wasn’t looking good. She was WILD. Still, I wanted to give her a couple of days to be sure. She ate and drank SO much. To the point where I thought it was very unusual. I tried to sit near the kennel and just be around her, but it upset her SO much. She would hiss, spit, growl and charge the kennel at me. Clearly, she was the definition of feral.

I watched her movements. Her leg was beyond mangled. My heart ached thinking of how much pain she must have been enduring since this happened to her. I thought about her life on the streets and what she’s been through. How hard it must be to fight for your life while in this agony. I wondered if she had a safe place to hide. The area where she came from was “ok”. The people who left food out for the cats all expressed to me that if I could find another place for the cats to go, they would love that. It was clear that they were not wanted.

I continued to observe her. It just wasn’t good. I could not, as an animal lover, let this cat suffer any longer. I spoke with the director of the TNR non-profit and together, we made the agonizing decision to euthanize her. So, I transferred her back to a trap and took her back to the feral cat staging area so she could go to the vet the next day.

I got the call that she was gone. They had put her under anesthesia and then administered the medicine and she peacefully drifted off. I cried for this poor girl, but knew I made the right decision for her.

Upon examination, they felt her body and said she was skin and bones. She must have been starving to death, that’s why she was eating so much when she was with me. She couldn’t compete with healthy cats to get at the food. Her injury was severe, and without intervention, she would have died a very painful death in approximately 4-6 months.

The purpose of sharing this very sad story…. so many homeless and feral cats need help. There is so much suffering on the harsh streets and these animals need us. So few people actually stand up and get involved, it’s like fighting a war, with very few soldiers.

We need more soldiers. Please, consider getting involved and helping animals that truly need our help.