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Kitty cat heaven

kets

I’ve posted about Celia Hammond before. She’s an ex-model who runs a cat rescue, one branch of which is not too far away in Sussex. I posted about it when we went to their Open Day a couple of years ago. It’s a big open landscape where they send semi-ferals and unhomeables.

I’m telling you, it was the most serene place I’ve ever been. Forget your Buddhist rock gardens, when I want to find inner peace, I close my eyes and picture those hundreds of moggies drifting gracefully around the meadows, waving their wild tails. I don’t know how they avoid territorial conflict — maybe because there are just too many cats to fight, maybe they put Kitty Valium in the Friskies — but I didn’t hear any hissing or see any aggressive behavior at all.

They didn’t seem feral, either — a bunch of friendly old pussoes headrubbing and begging skritchies. There were acres of grass and woods, dotted with tiny wooden cabins full of straw. It was cat heaven.

The picture above, by the way, is from a recent rescue of sixty cats, all one family. They were on a small farm with an elderly owner who died. Somehow, of the sixty, only eight were males, so they bred out of control really fast. They’re a strict no-kill shelter, so homes will be found for all.

If it turns out Jack’s nemesis is a stray, I can think of no happier fate for him than to be in that blessed place. I’d have to be sure, though. It would be an awful thing to spirit away somebody’s pet cat.

If you clicked that first link, I done you dirty. It’s a direct link to the cats-needing-homes page. I’ve been known to stay up too late, drink too much and start clicking. “I’ll take you home, kitty! I’LL TAKE YOU ALL home!”

Comments


Comment from Janna
Time: April 25, 2017, 9:42 pm

I had to stop volunteering at our local shelter. I kept wanting to take them all home, and I’d reached my emotional and financial limit.


Comment from feynmangroupie
Time: April 25, 2017, 10:27 pm

I do that with the local shelter websites and dogs. I’ve always wanted a big piece of land that I could fence in and rescue huskies.

Janna, the same thing happened with me.


Comment from Uncle Al
Time: April 25, 2017, 11:57 pm

oooo! you have an adoptable cat website? me too!


Comment from Fritzworth
Time: April 26, 2017, 2:05 am

Fortunately, I’m a dog person, so I can look at the kitty photos with nary a twinge. Don’t get me wrong; I grew up with cats and love ’em dearly, but they also kept trying to kill and eat my rats, lizards, etc. (sometimes achieving their goal), so I can harden my heart just fine.

On the other hand, I don’t dare even check to see if there’s, say, a MinPin rescue organization within driving distance. As my sweetie says, there’s a reason we’ve always gotten our female ‘pins spayed as soon as they were old enough; if we ever bred them, we wouldn’t be able to give up the puppies, and after a few generations, we’d be like the family in your post (“An older couple in Provo, Utah, were found to have 78 Miniature Pinschers in their house….”).


Comment from Bob B
Time: April 26, 2017, 2:18 am

Years ago, I found myself the frazzled “owner” of 15 dogs. Some of them were quite feral and skittish. Most of them were friendly, one of them attacked me (he got put down). Two of them hated a third and were always ganging up on her. Then the pregnancies began.
Nobody wants puppies with skittish feral behavior (Have you been beating them, they ask.) I had enough. I found homes for 10 of them. The remainder went to the pound.
Now I have three spayed 40 pound female dogs that get along.
That’s enough.


Comment from Wolfus Aurelius
Time: April 26, 2017, 12:45 pm

I have 2 giant feline thugs. That’s enough. (Though, looking at the rescue site, I’m tempted. . . .)


Comment from BJM
Time: April 26, 2017, 2:29 pm

It would be an awful thing to spirit away somebody’s pet cat.

We did just that, a big striped tom appeared in our yard, very friendly and hungry. This is the second cat that has “adopted” us (been dumped) and was fussing with the previous dumpee Sweetpea so he couldn’t stay.

I called around and put a flyer up, but no one claimed him. We were having tile work done and the tiler fell in love with the tom. After 10 days or so we decided the tiler could have him and off they went, everyone was happy as a clam.

Fast forward two weeks and the Spousal Unit was weed eating outside the front gate when a neighbor pulled up and asked if we’d seen her missing cat…who turned out to be a $3000 Bengali. She was on holiday and the housesitter let him out.

Okay, do we tell her or not? The tiler has five girls and they fell in love with the cat and visa-versa.

After speaking with the tiler we all agreed that the cat should be returned. I called the neighbor and explained what happened and that the tiler would bring the cat to her. She went off on me “Just because you think a cat is a stray doesn’t give you the right to give it away!” I was taken aback and sort of groveled as I felt so badly, but the neighbor continued to read me out. She was more cheesed off because she lost $3000 than the cat himself. WTF?

When the tiler’s wife returned the cat the dumb bint went off on her in front of her 5 yr old. All of us wish we’d kept our mouths shut.


Comment from Uncle Al
Time: April 26, 2017, 3:25 pm

@BJM – Sad story. It is an unpleasant truth that the world is full of people who will always blame their own shortcomings, failures, and errors on others


Comment from durnedyankee
Time: April 26, 2017, 5:10 pm

Well, not full of…looks like a solid 80+% of the people in the story are good folks – BJM, his spouse, the tiler, his kids and his spouse.

Now, the neighbor, not so much.

I keep trying to bribe the Almighty into helping me out by promising to use the money to open no kill shelters like the one above.
(Oh Lord, please let me win the lottery!)
(Help us out Clancey….buy a ticket.)

And finally, I humbly apologize for suggesting you black bag the evil interloper kitty and send him to Gatonimo.
I know I’d miss “small dog” the cat something awful if she managed to get out and someone transported her to parts unknown.


Comment from bikeboy
Time: April 26, 2017, 8:46 pm

My son-in-law made the mistake of taking my 4-year-old granddaughter to the local humane society. Now, numerous times a day… “Can I have a kitty-cat?” (Signing up to the the permanent servant of a cat is NOT a decision to be taken lightly!!)

I was reviewing the homing offers on the website… it must take a real specialist, to distinguish between your standard “outdoor cats,” and “country cats” and “garden cats”!!


Comment from Niña
Time: April 27, 2017, 3:28 am

I’m down to three rescued cats and one supposedly terminally dog. I don’t need any more (can’t afford the vet bills!).

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