I thought everyone would like to know that the poor cat who was repeatedly jabbed by a worker at MAS on Sunday is now safe. As it turns out, she was full term with a litter of kittens at the time the abuse took place. She has since given birth to 4 kittens and been pulled by rescue. Mr. Pepper has not yet responded to my e-mail alerting him to the incident. I will post additional details on mama and kittens if I receive any.
Rescuers need suggestions for names so add a comment if you have some ideas.
Also:
Big sigh of relief here. Thank you thank you thank you, rescue group!
I can’t think of any names for the cat but would like to donate some $ for child support if possible. Hopefully the rescue will be identified soon.
hehe – child support. Good one.
Thank you Rescuers!!!
Momma and babies are doing well. I just dropped them off at our Vet to be assessed. She had 4 adorable kittens, all white with cute black spots. I wish I had remembered to bring the camera because they were just too cute. Mom was so scared though. The shelter reported she was aggressive but she showed no aggression toward me when moving her and her babies from the shelter cage to my carrier, or my carrier to the Vet’s kennel they had set up a bed in for her and babies. Tonight they will likely go to their foster home if they check out. But Mom and babies are now safe.
You have to poke her with a stick to get the aggression out of her apparently. I’m so excited for the little family. I hope they all get ok’d by the vet to go to foster. Let us know as soon as you have a Chip-in or whatever set up. You know, for child support. *chortle*
Yeah I thought about that after I posted..hehe..I used kind words and a blanky to move her instead of a stick. Sort of amazing how that works out..*tongue squarely in cheek here*
Kind words and a blankie will get you far in life.
Yes it IS amazing what happens when you actually CARE and don’t poke at them and all the “fun” stuff they do repeatedly at MAS.
I dunno, I’d be pretty cranky if I was full term and somebody poked me with a stick. In fact, I’d probably be downright vicious. It would be great to see updates (and pics) of this adorable little family!
Thank YOU for caring enough to rescue the cat. VERY upsetting that not only was she being poked but was pregnant as well. Yep, real caring staff there….
MAS gets lots of negative comments so I think it only fair to give praise when it is due. I was remiss at getting the lady’s name who helped me with the Momma and babies today. I will find out who she is and say thanks personally next time I am there. She was friendly, knowledgeable, and very helpful with Momma and babies. She also had a very gentle touch with them too. Sometimes we get caught up in all the bad, that we forget to point out the good ones.
Laura Waldie
Thanks Laura. We appreciate all the good news we can get!
Thank you so much for rescuing Momma and her sweet babies! She was in protective mode I’m sure when these goofballs were poking at her,, geez! And they don’t expect fear from cats brought in to the shelter and placed in a cage with odd noises, smells etc. Strange men poking sticks in their cages.I’m just sorry she had to be treated this way. Shame on them, who is training these men? Someone needs some “sensitivity training” like we humans learn! Shelters need loving, gentle human beings around the animals, and more awareness of how scared they WILL be and how to deal with it KINDLY.
If there is a chipin account I will donate the little our family can to help! Thank God for the good people like you and the new foster home.
And the shelter did not know she was pregnant when she was admitted there?
We have rescued cats too and have many in our home.. I love cats dearly and want the best for all of them…
Anyone have any idea why this asshole would be jabbing a mom to be Cat anyway????
It looks like they didn’t even KNOW she was pregnant from what I read here? since it says “As it turns out”.. wow, now, THAT’S being on top of things..! This Momma to be didn’t need that type of stress while being in a strange cage too. You said it all in your comment, Donna! Someone train these people so they actually care for the animals properly! Get a clue, the animals deserve better…no excuse for this crap!
actually given the time frame, I suspect she was in labor during that time. If someone had poked me with a stick a few hours before I gave birth, they’d likely be surgically removing that stick from an orifice of the person who poked me. So I can totally understand Mama Cat (who had been named Charlotte) being a bit grumpy and aggressive.
I grew concerned after the abuse incident because I never saw her come out of the transfer box. I kept checking regularly and never saw her once. I even e-mailed the shelter to go and check and make sure the worker hadn’t left the door locked on her box. But it makes sense now that she didn’t come out because she was a bizzy kitty.
Thanks for the update! I worry about the kitties in that place!
Yes, she was probably in labor. No cat should EVER be poked and placed in a closed box. And, especially a pregnant Momma! Poor girl was in labor and being bothered by a strange man with a stick! Too much stress on her. I hope we all send comments to this shelter so they train, inform, educate and teach sensitivity, awareness and compassion for these homeless, abandoned animals who they come in contact with now!!! they need to do BETER.
MOST (animal control facility) shelter workers need help learning how to handle scared cats, in my experience. But I will say, the box thing is one of the safest ways (for cat and human alike!) to move a stressed kitty when their cage needs to be cleaned, when they need to go to the vet, etc. It is much more humane than the cat grabbers (and we won’t even touch catchpoles!), although there are rare occasions when the cat is so freaked out, the cat grabber is the only way to get them safely moved. (Usually those are cats brought in in traps, where they are quick enough to escape while being transferred from trap to cage. They can end up on top of the cages or otherwise climbing the walls, and unlike a home situation, you can’t just leave them loose and let them have time to calm down.)
But my point is that those “bad-kitty boxes” open much more easily than a standard carrier and are less stressful on the scared cats than any other method I have seen. If anyone has encountered a better way of handling panicked cats and ferals, please share, obviously this is an area where improvement is needed, and not just at MAS.
Emily – I think that point is poking at cats…especially pregnant ones. While I understand the importance of using the boxes, espcecially when dealing with ferals. But you are RIGHT that most shelter workers DO need proper training in how to handle cats. Sadly, MAS thinks that poke sticks and choke poles are the ONLy way to deal with ANY animal. Shows a major lack of training – which ALL falls back on Pepper as director.
This wonderful news made my day. Thank goodness that her plight was brought to light – or she and the kits likely would have had a different ending. Now they have a new beginning.
It seems like most (if not all) of the animals at MAS are “aggressive”. Maybe, just maybe, it’s the way they are handled and treated. Cats are usually pretty good about picking up vibes from people (don’t know about dogs – I live with 4 cats). And to be pregnant besides . . . I’d be beyond cranky if someone poked me with a stick.
Thanks to those responsible for getting Mama and her angels out of that place.
Baby name ideas: My favorite go-to cast of characters is from Charlotte’s Web: Fern, Charlotte, Wilbur, and Templeton. You can also use the names of Charlotte’s babies who stick around the farm to be friends with Wilbur: Joy, Aranea, and Nellie.
That is such a cute idea – especially as they named Momma Cat Charlotte! Very inventive…I’ve named so many animals I have handed it over to the kids to come up with names and they – of course – pick names of some of their favorite Tv show charcters!
Hokey and Pokey, Mr. Fingers and Schtick.
Although, with the white with black spots theme, you might could go for Gateway…or just the standard Holstein choices: Bessie, Daisy, Ellie, Mae, etc.
Congrats on the new lives for all! Post the chip-in page and I kid you not, we could all help with child support.
Yay – thank you for rescuing her! I was pretty hostile myself when pregnant, if someone had poked me with a stick I’d have probably ripped their head off, LOL. Will be glad to donate to her care fund!!
Depends on whether we have boy kits or girl kits. Names are easier if we know . . . still smiling about this very good news!
Glad to hear the good news about this cat and kittens rescue and the fact that have at least one person working at this shelter that seems to be nice and cares about the animals. I hope someone posts her name and we all thank her.
Aren’t cats amazing? Poked and mishandled, full term pregnant in such a stressful and terrifying place, yet she gave birth to her kittens and cared for them like a trooper. I’m so glad she was rescued by someone who cared. Makes me want to poke the shelter worker with a stick till he runs into a box. Go momma!
There are nice, caring workers at MAS. But they are far outnumbered.
Ona & Villy deal with money issues. I get to have fun playing with the kitties and being a foster mommy. Ona usually sets up the chipin’s for us, but she is rather busy I am assuming, since she not only is our VP, Dog adoption coordinator and foster mom, she took in Momma and these 4 babies tonight because all of our other cat fosters are overflowing. I am sure a chipin is forthcoming. Until then you can donate through paypal via the donate link on our petfinder site:
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/meowsandbowwows.html
If you want it to go strictly for mom and babies, just make a note that the donation is for the shelter mom and babies care. We are a 501(c)3 so your donations are tax deductible.
Momma kitty has been named Charlotte. She is very scared but is being a good Mother to her babies. Charlotte has had a rough time but not any more. She is warm, safe, and well fed tonight. Here are some pics: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=196247013744019&set=a.196246990410688.38261.112946988740689&type=1&theater
Thank you for rescuing this beautiful little cat family! Wonderful that they are alive and out of there! Charlotte’s nose looks pretty banged up–was she trying to get out of her cage? Or maybe got injured by all the stick poking? She really didn’t need that!
That one kitten clearly has an S on his/her back. Obviously this kitty should be named Shirley.
Of course she should be named Shirley! Thanks for the photos. Poor Charlotte – she’s had one heck of a pregnancy and delivery. Glad that she’s now in foster care where she will be able to recover and take care of those babies. Charlotte doesn’t look very old herself!
I’d like to send a small donation to help – but don’t do penpal. Can I just send it to the rescue (is there an address?) via check?
Bless your hearts for getting those precious kitties out of MAS.
On top of the good news out of MAS…you got a chuckle out of me with that! I agree – since Shirley did post for someone to help and rescue Charlotte that it is ONLY fair that one of the babes be named after her!
I set some money aside out of the grocery money so I can send a little to help out, not much mind you but hopefully if we all send a little then the foster/rescue won’t have to pay a thing for their hard work! You guys ROCK!
Oops – paypal, not penpal. Wish there was an edit function here.
Child support sent! :)
Is everyone here ready to protest at the pound yet? I say we “speak softly and carry a big stick”, like that jerk poking Charlotte. Also in the words of Roosevelt, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
I am in no way advocating violence, just a symbolic little stick.
Maybe we should have a poke stick AND a choke pole at the protest. And any other of their dialy tools…I’m thinking a nice hose to shoot the workers when they get to work just so they can feel what it’s like to be hosed down and have to wlak around soaking wet while working. Maybe if we let them walk in the animals ‘shoes’ for a day they’ll think twice about what they are doing?!?! (And no I’m not promoting violence either…bringing some of the “tools” can show the general public, who may have NO idea about them, can help educate the public in how they are used properly and improperly.) The hose and water idea isn’t necessarily a violence thing, but I think would be kinda funny to see how they would like to be hosed down and have to stand around soaking wet until they dried out…just like they do to the dogs. Hell, maybe we could order lunch and soak it down too before we give it to them! :)
I like the way you think!
=^..^=