09/16/13 to 09/22/13

Relocations and In Take

Our Cats after Release

Calls You Don’t Want to Get

BMG (Bitch – Moan - Groan)

OMG (Oh My God)

Relocations and In Take:   Placed 22 with week with intake at 13.

            2          Backyard in Duncanville (Fred and Ed)

            8          Bonham Rescue

            2          Barn in McKinney (Lucille and Yoko)

            1          Adoption group

            1          Garage in Denton

            2          Garage/Backyard in Corinth (Linda and Lulu)

            2          Porch/Garage in Allen (Fluffy and Claire)

            3          Barn in Celina (Minnie, Mya, and Jake)

            1          Backyard in Flower Mound (Shiloh)

                       

Our Cats after Release:  I was happy with all of the locations this week except maybe the barn in Celina.  There were lots of flies.  BUT she got 4 cats from us 7 years ago and the last one just passed away….kidney failure.  SO this is a good place with an owner that keeps up with the animals.  She has horses, chickens, one goat, one sheep, 2 donkeys, and two Great Pyrenees.   

                                                                                                                                               

Calls You Don’t Want to Get:  Have an elderly guy in Ellis County where folks keep dumping cats.  There are 5 friendly older kittens around his house.  He has NO carriers and NO way to get them to Lewisville.  I had an appointment to pick them up last Tuesday but he cancelled it because his wife was ill and his truck was in the shop.  Really don’t understand why the “truck in the shop” is any excuse, but – on well.  He needs to contain them on a porch or sunroom so I can go there to pick them up.  We are going to “try again” for this Tuesday – stay tuned!  

BMG:   Once again we are plagued by folks that “dump” cats in rural areas.  (see above)  If they are friendly, get them into an adoption group.  There are 200 to 300 such organizations in the DFW area.  BUT – I guess it is easier to dump in a cul-de-sac than go to Petco or PetsMart locations on Saturday and Sunday when all those adoption groups are showing their animals.  Just dump it and let someone else handle your problem!     

OMG:   I had a barn owner ask me this week if one of our cats EVER gets ill, will we pick up the vet pills. We will treat a cat that is in the cage for the two-week relocation period but not “for the life of the animal”.  We are a charity – we run by donations and a few grants.  We usually “live on the edge”.  Just like people, older cats have more health issues.       

Thanks for following the Barn Cats blog.  See you next week!           Peg

09/09/13 to 09/15/13

THE BLOG IS BACK!

Relocations and In Take

Our Cats after Release

Calls You Don’t Want to Get

BMG (Bitch – Moan - Groan)

OMG (Oh My God)

Check out this Dog

Relocations and In Take:   Placed 17 with week with intake at 11!

            3          Adoption Group (Bolt, Piggy, Man)

            2          Trap/Neuter/Return (Polar Bear, Chubby)

            2          Barn in Southlake (Martha, Mary)

            2          Barn in Argyle (Pam, Sue Ellen)

            2          Barn in Denton (Morgan, Ebony)

            2          Barn in Wolfe City (Marla, Monty)

            2          Home in McKinney (Rollo, Chuy)

            2          Shed/Backyard in Dallas (Trouble, Miranda)

FINALLY – it is cooling off and we can get some cats placed.  17 is a really good week...but notice, it is all in two’s except for the adoption group that was for 3.  That is a lot of driving around. 

                       

Our Cats after Release:  Had no out-standing equipment so have no update on cats after release. 

                                                                                                                                               

Calls You Don’t Want to Get:  A guy called me from East Dallas.  His mom passed away suddenly, he lived with her, and now is about to be evicted.  She had a REVERSE MORTGAGE.  WHAT?  Your son (no job, does not drive, has no friends and lives with you) has no income and you get a REVERSE MORTGAGE with no way he can repay the bank.  HOW SHORT SIGHTED IS THAT!  People need to look at the BIG PICTURE with these mortgages.  If there is someone dependent on you (for whatever reason – see OMG below), then how can they possibly repay that mortgage.  He has no income and the utilities are about to be cut off.  Glad I could help him with the cats.  I took 5 out of 8 – and all 5 have been placed.  He has no carriers or way to get them to me or any other adoption group.  I drove into East Dallas to take him carriers and he was able to pack up those 5 cats right away…GREAT!   I now need to go back and leave him 3 additional carriers. 

BMG:   PEOPLE:  You cannot continue to leave messages sitting on your phone.  The box fills up.  You leave me a message, I call back, but then cannot leave you a message.  WAKE UP!  If your mailbox is full, you should not be leaving messages for other people who DO KEEP THEIR BOX EMPTY!  Then you call me back and are MAD because I have not returned your call.  AHHHHHH!   

OMG:   I understand that formally there was a “stigma” attached to the family if they had a mentally challenged child.  BUT – those days are over.  That child needs to be self-sufficient because you are not going to live forever.  Group homes are the answer and I have personally seen that WORK in two or three cases.  Also, it should not be the responsibility of other siblings to TAKE IN that child when you die.  Get him/her somewhere where there are other similar people…they now have friends and get jobs.  They can LIVE – not be “protected” by a well-being but misguided parent. 

Check out this dog … from a groomer-gone-wild.  The dog does not care – happy and good natured, but....

Thanks for following the Barn Cats blog.  See you next week!           Peg

08/12/13 to 08/18/13

BLOG on Vacation

Relocations and In Take

Our Cats after Release

Calls You Don’t Want to Get

BMG (Bitch – Moan - Groan)

OMG (Oh My God)

BLOG on Vacation:  After today, there will be no entries until 9/15/13.  SO – tune in after that date for further Barn Cat entries.  There will be lots of action in the September, October, and November months. 

Relocations and In Take:   Placed 0 with intake at 0…just too D—N hot!

Jackson in Plano

Our Cats after Release:

   Rockwall – Peanut Butter (cat with jar stuck on her head) – She is doing fine and has made fast friends with Turtle, their resident cat.  

   Plano – Jackson is now living in a backyard in Plano.  He has not killed any rats or mice yet BUT he is DEATH to any and all grasshoppers!

                                                                                                                                               

Calls You Don’t Want to Get:   

1.       This is so weird!   An elderly lady in Dallas called Barn Cats because someone was trapping at her apartment complex and took away her pet cat that was on her front porch.  The “rescuer” took the cats away (2 adults and 4 kittens) because the apartment management did not want them there and was threatening to evict anyone who fed the cats.  Well I sent out some text messages and made one phone call.  AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, the one phone call I made was to a person that had met that “rescuer” at the SPCA of Texas Spay/Neuter Clinic and had taken the kittens into the adoption groups that she ran.  One of which (orange boy) had been adopted last weekend.  The two adults were taken to a barn in East Texas after they were sterilized and one was pregnant.  The pregnant one had belonged to the person that had called me AND she is probably the cause of the cat problems in that complex.  She let that calico breed and breed and then just released the kittens.  That cat is better off at a barn!    

2.       Argyle Update:  This is the situation with the elderly guy is suppose to have 75 to 100 cats on his property and can no longer afford to feed them.  (ME NEITHER!  That is a lot of cats!)   I took a neighbor 4 traps on Sunday 8/18/13 and also left some food.  The Panther City organization out of Fort Worth is supposed to be organizing trapping, sterilization, and transport for these cats.  I had not had an update.  I know they wanted to use TCAP in Denton for the vet work but don’t know if they could handle that many cats at a time, etc.  A clinic in Flower Mound said they could do 5 a week.  Now, with our 4 traps, they can at least get that process started.  More later…

BMG:   The Durant location for the Oklahoma Spay Network sent out a letter this week.  This is where the Bonham folks have been taking their female cats for a $25 spay/rabies shot.  WELL – They are discontinuing their work with any rescue groups from North Texas.  This is not something new:  it has been going on since 2009.  We started supporting the Bonham folks in 2012.  This is a tragic loss!   

OMG:   Over a year ago, I received a call from the Ellis County SPCA.  They wanted to know if I had given any cats to a lady named Michelle Lehman in their area.  I was not familiar with her.  The guy on the phone said she had been taking cats and dogs out of their shelter under the name of an adoption group in the mid-cities (I cannot remember which one).  She had their 501C-3 info and everything.  BUT – I called that group and they did not know her either.  This week she was convicted of animal abuse in Ellis County with 82 animals on the property (48 dogs and 34 cats) living in horrific conditions.  67 had to be euthanized.  Hope they lock her up and throw away the key!  

Thanks for following the Barn Cats blog.  See you next week!           Peg