I mentioned my cats in passing during my rant about my husband’s ex-wife. There were requests for photos, so here they are:
(Mr. Maven is working from home today and was kind enough to send me some pictures )
Cast of Kitties:
Jake. My oldest cat. I’ve had him for 10 years and he was full grown when I caught him in a live trap. He weighed 6 pounds and I think at least a pound of that was worms! I nursed him back to health and got attached. He’s been a great foster-dad to young kittens, but has retired due to his age.
Elwood. The infamous Three-Quaters Cat. When he was a kitten someone hung on the top of a chain-link fence. He lost his hind right leg to gangrene. No one wanted a “handicapped” kitten. I took him home. (He looks just like Jake, so Elwood was the logical name. He’s also from the same area I caught Jake. I sometimes wonder if they are more than adopted brothers. . .)
Astrix. The kitten, just had his 1st birthday. He was born in my bedroom in typical cat fashion: in the closet, not in the birth box I prepared. Mr. Maven adopted him.
When I worked for a shelter, amputees actually went quickly. I could do a complex fracture repair and the animal would be passed over, but take the leg off and adopters would fight over him.
Really? There were two reasons why people turned Elwood down. He could not be an outside cat, it was to dangerous for him. Also, he could not be declawed, because he needed his front claws to help him grip and stabilize. In addition to this, he was on antibiotics. I think some people thought he was to much work.
Maybe its regional? I found both Jake and Elwood outside of Baton Rouge, LA and a lot of people there had a more “utilitarian” very of their animals.
Probably a regional thing. Declawing is getting more and more unpopular here. I used to declaw about half of all cats coming in for spay/neuter. Currently, I do about 100 cat spays/neuters a month and I average one declaw every two months.
Some shelters also go out of their way to capitalize on the awwww factor in amputee dogs/cats.
No comment. Lets just say that the cost of maintaining a dog post operatively is far greater for a fracture (eight weeks average until pin removal) than amputation (can go to new home in a couple days). Many shelters have huge financial concerns. Some shelters would euthanize for any injury.
I didn’t think about the over head. Many years ago, I worked for a Humane Society, money was always tight and we had to get creative. Quality of life and overhead sometimes clash. Very, very hard work.
(Now I’m in research doing mouse surgery. When one of my mice dies, I know that the information gained will help others.)
I always feel funny about mice. It is not uncommon for me to treat a sick pet mouse for a client, then the next client will have a sick snake that needs force fed. A mouse. That the client brings, alive and healthy.
Years ago I was at a WalMart where a lady was buying a mouse for snakefood. She commented that she had waited too late to go to the pet store where she usually bought feeder mice and was a little weirded out by buying a "pet’ mouse. We were both torn between tears and laughter when they gave her the mouse in a little (cardboard) box with the logo “Thanks for giving me a new home!”
Thank you! They seem to expand to fill up any available space.
My husband is the photographer. [shameless promotion] If you look at the on-line photo album, you’ll see some great black and white pictures he took. [/sp]
I have OCD, I really do. Cleaning the house keeps me sane-ish, and Mr. Maven is a neat-nick.
I have been blessed with an OCD level neat housekeeper. She cleans things that I don’t even realize have been cleaned. The other day I was getting something out of the refrigerator and something was not right. Turns out she had emptied the fridge and cleaned the glass shelves. Something I would never think to do during the lifespan of the appliance.
)
Oh yea gods. I hope they are not amputating limbs that could be saved.
