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46 NOVEMBER 2015 DOGGIERESCUE.COM MAGAZINE
Mightier than the Sword by Jessica McColl
October 6, 2015
http://www.felinefoundation.org/blog/2015/10/6/mightier-than-the-sword-by-jessica-mccoll
Hello Readers, you have a better idea of what you are going to get
purrsonality wise, such-and-such is so deserving of a
It feels like only yesterday that I was writing about the beautiful home and yet it rarely makes a difference. So
dire circumstances that accompany ‘kitten season’ in rescue organisations are approached, “please take this
Australia and yet here we are again. Already many cat”, but they too are overflowing. They feel the terrible
pounds and shelters are starting to fill up with mama cats pinch of having to say ‘no’ because they cannot take
and kittens, very soon-to-be mama cats and batches of anymore. Some are told explicitly that if they do not take
orphaned kittens. this cat or a litter of kittens, that they will be euthanised
that afternoon. When they say euthanised, they actually
You see, here I would usually start prattling on about mean killed.
irresponsible owners who don’t desex their pets and who
don’t realise that they are contributing to the problem. Now imagine that were you. You were that rescuer, doing
But that gets really tiring really fast. Yes, there are this because you love animals and want to make a real
irresponsible owners in spades out there. No, that does
not condone the treatment that cats receive within the difference. You have seen ones survive terrible odds,
pound system. During kitten season, things get bad
within the pounds. Really bad. It becomes over crowded, tenderly nursed them through the worst days so that they
disease and illness sweeps through there and everything could live a whole life of better days. You have lost some.
becomes sick. People come in for a look (thank you for You tried and tried for them but their will to live was
choosing to adopt and not shop) and will spend ages broken or the enemy too strong, your last gift was to hold
looking into the kitten cage but sweep past all of the them so that they knew love existed as they made their
older cats. The older cats may be barely two years old. final journey. You have wanted to keep some of them
(all of them) but know they have to leave to make way for
I can tell you all the lines we use to encourage people new ones. When you are told those you don’t take will be
into taking an older cat; they are out of crazy kitten stage, killed you feel as though it is your fault and it weighs on
your mind and conscience. It is terribly unfair. Depression
and burnout is rife within the rescue community.
