Kitten #244279 was impounded as a stray by Memphis Animal Services (MAS) on July 26, 2012 and killed on July 27. She was not kept for the legally mandated stray holding period. She has no record of veterinary treatment at MAS although there is a notation on her kill card from the vet that says, “URI/Iso full”. URI (upper respiratory infection) is not a medically hopeless condition and obviously this kitten was healthy enough to stand on her own inside the trap.
There is no indication that she came in with a mama cat or littermates. Unweaned kittens need to nurse every few hours in order to stay alive. If she was trapped and impounded without a mama cat, she would have been starving from the time she was caught until MAS killed her. No pleas were issued for this kitten to my knowledge. She was sick and the pound supposedly had no room in isolation so they left her somewhere (where – in the trap on the kill room floor?) to starve while they all went home for the evening and no one got around to killing her until the next day. Does anyone at MAS care about the suffering of a baby cat? Who was advocating for this kitten’s right to live? Where were her “Friends”?
This kitten is older than 16 days. She looks old enough to eat solid food. They could have offered her wet (canned) food and see if she would eat.
As long as the leadership of the shelter does not make life saving the priority, the culture of killing will continue.
This kitten was cold, dehydrated, sick, and scared. Did anyone think to give her (warmed) fluids to make her more comfortable? Did anyone think to give her a towel and a hot water bottle because she was too young and unwell to regulate her own body temperature?
Or was she left in a cage with newspaper, to huddle miserably, starving and cold?
This kitten suffered and died at the hands of “trained professionals”. Congratulations MAS.
There are no trained professionals at MAS, only crackheads, perverts, and homeless bums hired off the streets of Memphis, TN to kill animals!!! I suppose we should be glad they’re killing defenseless animals instead of humans!!!!! I’d rather be around animals than some people I know!!!
No, I’m NOT glad they’re killing animals instead of people. Animals don’t deserve it. Thir only crime is being born around uncaring people.
I hope the dumb bastards that run and work at MAS read my comments and really get pissed off!! I welcome their thoughts and comments if they have any balls!!
Everytime I see an MAS post on here I think that St. Judes is located in Memphis, one of the greatest humanitarian organizations.
Is there no shame at all at Memphis? Never mind… don’t answer that.
There are an extraordinary number of people working at shelters who actually ENJOY seeing an anlmal suffer, and then have the pleasure later of killing said animal. You would be SHOCKED if you knew just how many animal abusers work in shelters! There sit the animals, ripe for the plucking…..and nobody says a word. Now you know WHY.
So much for shelter director James Rogers’ “march forward in terms of excellence.”
And there’s no doubt, this poor kitten was a victim not just of MAS, but also of Friends of Memphis Animal Services, whose wrongly aligned mission is not to save animals, but:
“to decrease pet overpopulation, promote the importance of spaying and neutering animals, and educate the public about responsible pet ownership.”
In other words, to blame the public for the shelter’s decision to kill animals. These people VOLUNTEER to enable the shelter that killed Kitten #244279.
This is just sad. This poor thing. I have no words.
Here is a blog on how Austin went No-Kill from the No-Kill Conference. Interesting info on how they began to save kittens and puppies and also small dogs! Someone from MAS should definitely have attended.
http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/08/liveblogging-the-2012-no-kill-conference-dr-ellen-jefferson-and-ryan-clinton-on-no-kill-in-austin-te.html
Cruel and heartless beyond words. RIP beautiful girl, I would have taken you home if I were there.
What I want to know is when did the vet at MAS stop seeing animals’ suffering? Or does she still see it and just doesn’t care? Why withhold pain medications, fluids, and other palliative measures?
Even if she knows that these animals are going to die the next day, withholding relief from them, relief that is hers to give, is unconscionable.
It is very likely that this kitten was never shown to anyone, including the volunteers. They don’t hold cats or kittens for the same waiting period that they (supposedly) do dogs. Cats are brought in on the truck, and many of them never make it out from behind the locked doors where the volunteers and the irresponsible public are never allowed. I would be very surprised if the “friends” ever saw this kitten. “Bring ’em in, stack ’em up, kill ’em” is the philosophy, especially with cats.
That wonderful cat lady is still there, and any cat that she sees gets love and attention. I place the blame for this particular killing squarely on the shoulders of Dr. Coleman and Mr. Rogers.
Is there even a single MAS volunteer advocating for every pet’s right to live or are they all enabling the “Bring ‘em in, stack ‘em up, kill ‘em” philosophy you mention?
I do believe there are a couple of really good ones there now. All I know is that as soon as one starts to rattle the cages of the paid staff about animal treatment, kill rate, etc., they get tossed. I have the footprint on my behind to prove it.
Not rattling cages doesn’t seem to be working out too well for the pets. I wish every animal lover in Memphis would rattle the cages at MAS.
The way I understand it is, volunteers are under the direction & threat of ‘Friends of MAS’ leadership. It’s their leadership that holds the responsibility to the kittens & puppies to prevent suffering. It’s FoMAS’s leadership that is directly responsible for lack of compassion, pain, suffering, starvation, no photos and many unnecessary deaths when they could be doing so much to make it a better place. Who is it at the top of FoMAS that prevents volunteers from doing what they came to do?