Small yellow cat on bike path between Mass Ave and Alewife

[smammy]

This morning I saw a small yellow cat hanging around the bike path just East of Alewife. No collar or tags, but really friendly. She seemed to be getting enough to eat, but had some dry skin and missing fur on her ear. She was still there when I rode back through 20 minutes later. Just thought I'd post in case someone was missing her or wanted to go check her out. Take her to the vet? Adopt her?

Comments

[ron_newman]

You may want to call Cambridge animal control.

[smammy]

I dunno... maybe that would get her killed...

[ron_newman]

Point taken, but they might also be able to match it with a 'lost cat' report.

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

A lot of people on here say to call animal control. They definitely say it in good faith, but they're the worst people to call considering they do harm animals just like the MSPCA does. They kill them. If you found a lost child would you take them somewhere where they'd be killed. Obviously not.
Do Internet searches, call vet clinics and pet shops, post flyer's, etc. If in some time nobody claims her and you can't find a trusted person for her to be with, there are no-kill shelters.
If you go to this page and scroll down, there are a lot in MA.
http://featherlane.com/@Maia/Site/no-kill.htm

[ron_newman]

But if I lost a cat or dog, I'd report that to animal control. What would you do?

[grateful1311.livejournal.com]

This is not true in more cases than not.

[smammy]

I'm pretty okay with kill shelters, actually. And saying that a cat picked up by animal control WILL be killed is disingenuous. Prefer TNR, but it's also a public health issue. Also, Ron has a good point that pet owners do call Animal Control when they lose their pets.

But also: If the cat's doing OK on her own, hanging out, getting enough to eat, why should I interfere? I don't know. I'm conflicted.

Thinking about it further: If I had had my saddle bags on my bike I'm pretty sure I would have tucked said cat in there and taken her home. At that point, I would have called Animal Control to inquire as to whether anyone had reported her host. But I probably wouldn't have let them take her.

And right now, after I'm home, I'm hesitant to call them.

By all means, go snag that cat and take her to a no-kill shelter. I just hope the shelter you choose is actually able to cope with the number of animals they're trying to care for. From what I've heard this is sometimes a problem.

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

It's rare that I ever check into threads I've already posted in but I wanted to know what happened to the cat. Even thouh I remember reading about you on your bike, I figured you had somehow gotten the cat, lol. Sorry about that.

The fact that you are ok with a killing is frightening.
I did not say it WILL be killed. It could be killed as they do kill them if they don't find a home. It is true what Ron said, that some pet owners do call looking for their lost pets. I never said he was wrong. It doesn't mean you should bring the pet there though. In MI a family lost a pet and called animal control just to find out their beloved animal was killed. That was a long story short. I mentioned all of this in regards to you pointing out that it could be killed if you called them.

The no kill shelter has many foster homes and do well taking them all in. Would you make a similar comment about the thousands of children crowding foster care in America? I doubt it and I would hope not.

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

What's your source for that story? I highly doubt that an animal shelter would find a healthy, socialized, tagged animal and put it to sleep within hours. Most shelters that euthanize do so as a last resort. I am a pet owner, and I hate the thought of anyone killing a pet, but your post reeks of hysteria.

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

But also: If the cat's doing OK on her own, hanging out, getting enough to eat, why should I interfere? I don't know. I'm conflicted.

As the poster below pointed out, the cat's condition might be indicative of ringworm, which is highly contagious. Most pets don't do that well on their own, or you end up with packs of feral animals, which pose all sorts of disease issues for local pets, predation on local birds, and so on.

I think the default should always be calling a shelter or animal control to ensure the cat isn't left to an uncertain fate.

Maybe I feel that way because we woke up to a dead black cat in the road - one that we believe belonged to a nearby house with many cats mostly roaming free without tags.

Not all ACO's euthanize everything.

[grateful1311.livejournal.com]

I must disagree with this sweeping statement. Somerville Animal Control works very hard to place adoptable animals that come through the department. We work with many local rescues that take our adoptable animals, spay/neuter/vaccinate them and put them in suitable, screened homes. We do not euthanize adoptable animals. Unfortunately, we do get animals who have been abandoned by their owners who are simply not adoptable whether it be because their health is very bad or they have severe behavioral issues.

On another note, every missing animal report that comes in to Somerville Animal Control is documented and, if the owner wishes, is posted on the "Lost Pets" section of the city's web site. See here: http://www.somervillema.gov/section.cfm?org=animal&page=287
You should ABSOLUTELY call animal control if you find a wandering animal. If you do not, that animal may miss out on the opportunity to go home.


Have a great weekend.

Re: Not all ACO's euthanize everything.

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

It was not a "sweeping statement", lol. Nobody said they don't try to adopt them out. From what I remember and have heard. After some time in an animal control shelter if the animal isn't adopted they're killed.

Re: Not all ACO's euthanize everything.

[suzybuzz.livejournal.com]

I really think Animal Control works very hard to help animals, not hurt them. Your tone made it sound like they are eager to kill any animal reported. I am grateful that we have animal control departments that work to rescue lost or injured animals and do their best to find them homes.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

They kill them

Actually, I have two formerly-feral cats, Click and Clack, romping my apartment right now who would beg to differ with that statement. Somerville animal control took great pains to capture the litter of feral kittens safely, and handed them over to Charles River Alley Cats, who somewhat socialized them, had them spayed, and adopted two of them back to us.

And Click just hopped up on the sofa and meowed to be petted. Without animal control, she would probably be dead by now. The city's not really a safe place for a wandering cat.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

May I point out http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/1381804.html as a counter to your claim?

[grateful1311.livejournal.com]

By any chance were these the kittens found in the car engine?

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Yep! Given that we found them under the hood of a car, "Click" and "Clack" seemed appropriate!

My girlfriend -- now wife -- didn't like my first choices for names, for some reason. I don't know why. "Dipstick" and "Crankshaft", or "Dippy" and "Cranky" for short, seem like perfectly good cat names! :-)

Thanks so much for your persistence in capturing them!

[grateful1311.livejournal.com]

I remember those guys! How coule I forget 5 Kittens in the engine of a car. What a riot! I am glad they are doing well.

"Thanks so much for your persistence in capturing them!"

You are very welcome.

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

They keep animals for a while. If they don't get adopted out they kill them. So obviously, your cats are fine considering they were adopted out. It's known that Animal control and the MSPCA kill the animals after some time has passed. When I was a kid I remember the animals had dates on their cages. My friends mother asked them what the dates meant and the woman said it was the date the animal would be put down. So under animal control, if you didn't adopt your cats and nobody else did after a particular time, they would have killed them. Sure, they give them some time but what about the animals that didn't find homes in time? It's not worth it when they can be taken to a no kill shelter. You saved those cats from a lot more then just having no family.

[grateful1311.livejournal.com]

Did you read my post above at all??

[suzybuzz.livejournal.com]

Purpless, instead of relying on comments from your friend's mother and what you remember as a kid, shouldn't you visit the MSPCA or even call them to verify the veracity of this statement? I really think it's tacky to indict an organization who works so hard to help animals. Many shelters do euthanize, but only after ALL other possibilities are exhausted after an extensive period of time. If we weren't so overpopulated with homeless animals, euthanization would halt. Unfortunately the more animals we leave on the streets, the more they will reproduce and not be properly cared for -- and the cycle continues. The best way to stop euthanization is to ACT by calling any number of animal shelters so they at least have a fighting chance -- if they are left stray and reproduce, then those kittens will also be in trouble.

Anyway, I know that employees of animal organizations would not devote their life's work to helping hurt or lost animals if they arbitrarily put them to sleep based on a date listed on their cages. If such is the case, I want to hear it from the MSPCA, not third hand from your mother's friend or based on an impressionistic childhood memory.