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Anonymous
every time i see a homeless pet i want to take it home and clean it up. i tell my other friends this and they say i should be more worried about diseases and such.

anyone else get this feeling when they see homeless animals?
>> Anonymous
Maybe if she wasn't so ugly. Also in b4 Terminator kitten.
>> Anonymous
i do. i'm always feeding the strays around here. if my apartment allowed pets, my place might be full of them.
>> Anonymous
>>133629
there will never be a terminator kitten
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>133629

wut?
>> Anonymous
lulfags
>> Anonymous
k
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>133633
>> Anonymous
no

whenever i see a homeless animal i get scared and try to avoid it
>> Anonymous
i hate seeing these homeless pictures. they make me feel bad :(
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>133632
Look at pic while listening to Terminator theme.
>> Anonymous
I feel the same way. I refuse to go to animal shelters and things like that because seeing all of those animals without homes makes me really depressed. Especially since so many get put down every day.. it's not right.

When I was younger, I had this dream that if I ever won the lottery (Yeah okay) I would buy some kind of giant farm somewhere, and adopt all strays and all animals in the pound on 'death row' and let them live on my giant pet farm xD
>> Anonymous
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>>133639

but i woof you
>> Anonymous
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>>133643

i hope you do win the lottery.
>> Anonymous
Yes. Usually if I can catch them I'll try to get them out of harm's way and off to a no-kill shelter (except really feral cats-- I figure they're fine on their own).
>> Anonymous
>>133642

sooo sad!! :(
>> Anonymous
you'll be happy to know that more funding goes in homeless animal shelters and then homeless people shelters.

America.
>> Anonymous
>>133652
I'm pretty sure that in that picture that cat is trying to claw the hell out of that hand.
Most people think animals belong in shelters or kennels, which are really just small cages, if they can't find a home.
Sure it's true that captive animals lead longer lives than wild ones, but the quality of life for an animal in a kennel is horrible no matter how caring the keepers are. Most animals really are better off in the wild.
So if you see a stray animal it's better off on it's own than if you're just going to take it to a shelter. You could take them home, but if you're in an area where there's a lot of strays then you can only take so many.

I live in an area near a lot of woods where there's a lot of stray cats. One day a feral KITTEN (barely weened) was in my yard. Over serveral weeks I tamed her enough to get her in my house and she eventually became a very nice housecat, but I had no cats before.
Since then I've seen many adult strays but they live rather well off of catching mice so I don't feel bad for them. Plus, some dumbass down the street feeds all the strays, making the problem worse.
Honestly, every single house in my neighborhood has a cat because of this.
>> Anonymous
>>133649
i woof you too... BUT I CAN'T HELP YOU!! D:
>> Anonymous
>>133684

you know what they do to guys like me in here?? don't let that happen to me! ;_;
>> Anonymous
I usually try and stop for them if I can and pick them up. I however take them to this thing called the HUMANE SOCIETY.
>> Anonymous
>>133652
OUCH D=

fukken cats
>> Anonymous
>>133702
And they euthanize them if they're unadoptable. Or, if they are adoptable, they're kept in a cage their entire life.
I respect the humane societies, but putting animals in cages is NOT better than letting them live as strays.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>133705
There is so much I can respond to this, but I've said it all before. I shall sum up.

Quality of life depends upon the shelter. Strict No-kill shelters are terrible. City-run shelters are usually tolerable.

It is utterly cruel to release an animal that depends upon humans into "the wild". If a pet is unadoptable, it is better to euthanize them than release them.

The best way of dealing with feral animals is to catch, spay/neuter & treat, then release. This way they cannot contribute to the population, but get to live as they are accustomed to.

It's better that one animal dies than a hundred. If a shelter kept every animal and never culled any, they would run out of resources, and the quality of life for the rest of the animals would decline. This is the problem with No-kill shelters.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>> Anonymous
>>133709
>If a pet is unadoptable, it is better to euthanize them than release them.

Cause execution is superior to giving it the chance to fend for itself. If you are worried about overpopulation, that evens out. And don't worry about their human dependency; there are a lot of trash bins everywhere.
>> Anonymous
>>133709
But when it at least comes to cats, they aren't dependant on humans. They can in fact survive just fine in the wild. I don believe it makes sense to neuter them first.
For that matter I believe dogs would be fine in the wild as well, but I understand that people would have a harder time living with that in this day and age. In most countries it's common to have a lot of stray dogs, but in America it's simply unimaginable.
While it's true that a wild animal has a shorter life span than a captive one, I don't think this means they're doomed if they're let loose. If I owned a dog that simply was incapable of living with humans I'm not sure what the best thing would be for it.
>> Anon
>>133642
D:
A 16 year old is going to jail for killing a Kitten with a golf club in front of various horrified children, it's owner one of them.
WTF D:
>> Anonymous
>>133716
Doesn't deserve more than a fine and some court ordered counseling. Jail won't solve anything.
>> Anonymous
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>>133713
That, my friend is pure bullshit that people spread so they don't feel too bad about stray cats. Stray cats usually don't get older than 4-5 years and when they die (usually of AIDS, leucose or some other nasty disease), they die hard, very hard.

You know how many mice a cat needs to catch daily to be able to live off them?

The answer is: 50.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>133712
Have you ever worked with rescue groups or anything like that? It really seems as you haven't. In a shelter, an animal has food, water, and safety. It sees a vet when it gets sick. They may not be properly socialized, but that's because there are so many other animals, and they have to be taken care of as well.

In an urban setting, a cat could get caught by someone and tortured. It could get in a fight and have its body shredded. It could get hit by a car. Many MANY rescued cats have been through that. Do you congratulate the homeless on their freedom? After all, there are dumpsters everywhere.

>>133713
You neuter them so they don't make more cats. It's ALWAYS better for a species to have a low but stable population. Have either of you seen any of the studies on how many kittens a single female cat can produce in a year? A tomcat can sire thousands of kittens.

It doesn't even out. It gets worse for everyone involved.
>> Anonymous
>>133712
The problem with allowing domesticated animals such as cats and dogs into the wild is that they will kill all of the wildlife that occurs naturally. For example feral cats in New Zealand have hunted the Kakapo parrot to near extinction. We created these domestic pets and we have the right to kill them if they are interfering with natural wildlife. Cats and dogs are not meant to be wild animals. If the pets are merely lost or are adoptable then they are to be taken to the Humane Society/Shelter and adopted out but they should by no means be allowed to run around messing up tha joint.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
Oh, and I should note:

There are hundreds of ways for feral animals to die. They die slowly, in pain, cold and alone often times. If a human is involved, it's even worse.

In a shelter, while they may be scared at first, but death is quick and fairly painless. If it ISN'T then that is one of those bad shelters that good people try to close down.

If you want to help, find a reputable shelter or rescue group and donate your time and your money. Don't buy a pet from a pet store or breeder, but adopt one from a rescue group or shelter. Catch a feral animal in a live animal trap, get it fixed, and let it go if you can't keep it.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>133727
I'm going to have to go ahead and psuedodisagree with you there, though it's really more of a clarification than anything.

A non-native species should never be released, for exactly the reasons you mentioned.

An animal that cannot defend itself should never be released. Contrary to popular belief, animals that have been raised by humans have a tough time thriving without us. Your cat might catch a bird occasionally, but it won't be able to keep itself from starvation. There are exceptions, sure. It's even worse for dogs, which crave human contact, and will often wander up to people in the hopes that they will be nice. Usually they aren't.
>> Anonymous
>>133728
Thank you for the sanity. I get so tired of people that think everything with stray DOMESTIC animals is a-okay and there's no need to euthanize.
>> Anonymous
>>133726
Clearly the homeless should be euthanized.
>> Anonymous
>>133735
Because humans are cats and dogs, amirite.
>> Anonymous
when i was younger, i used to feed all the stray cats that would come to my house. they would never leave afterwards and i would consider them pets.

10 years later and i'm out of school with a place of my own. a friend gives me a kitten because his cat had a batch. i take this cat to the vet, give it all it's shots, and raise it indoors unlike all the other cats i've owned. it gets all the food, toys, and attention it wants.

but long story short, this is the worst cat ever i've ever had.

is it because it doesn't appreciate this kind of life? are tamed strays and adopted animals more friendly?
>> Anonymous
>>133737
Thank you for reiterating my point that the analogy is improper.
>> Anonymous
>>133732
Find me a single starving feral cat. Go ahead. I've never heard of a feral cat dying of starvation.
Yeah they get sick or hurt, but that's what happens to all wild animals. It's still better than living in a cage it's whole life. I'd rather be homeless living on the street than to live in jail.
>> Anonymous
>>133740
Individual thing, though some people claim rescued animals seem more grateful. I'm reluctant to say that's true because wtf kind of proof could there possibly be behind that, but I've noticed it to be true in my own pets.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>133735
Well... I'm pretty sure you can guess my stance on that. I would give my life to save an animal from a slow painful death. I would not do the same for a human.
>> Anon
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We can't tell if this is a stray or not, but it's been around for over 6 years.
We decided to start feeding it, as it often hangs out on our front deck.
I wish my parents would stop putting milk out though, isn't that bad for cats that haven't drank it all their lives?
>> Anonymous
>>133744
And that, my friend, is the consequence of being one of the hugest dicks to walk the earth.
Enjoy your existence of failure.
>> Anonymous
>>133745
Yeah, milk usually gives cats diarrhea. I don't know about the long term effects.
>> Anonymous
>>133742

starving? or malnourished?
>> Anonymous
>>133742
Feral cats, in my opinion, are wild animals, and completely different from a family cat that got loose or abandoned. Even if they're wild, though, they're not a part of nature. Nothing good ever happens when the ecosystem gets screwed up by something man-made. Feral cats are an issue in many areas because of killing rare songbirds. Ferals are also usually unsuitable for adoption, so the best thing to do with them is catch, spay/neuter, and release.
>> Anonymous
>>133745

god damn that's a big bowl.

go get yourself one of those scoop cups that gives them a good proportion.
>> Anonymous
>>133742
I have feral cats on my farm and they all starve because I refuse to feed the stupid fuckers.
>> Anonymous
>>133740

from my experience, older cats are more grateful.

no good punk kittens.
>> Anon
>>133751
Yeah, I know. It's the old Dog bowl my sister left behind when she visited with her dog.
We usually don't fill it that full, so it should be okay.
>> Anonymous
>>133745

hitler cat has a family :3

why, one day he might claw off a would-be burgular
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>133746
Yea, I am pretty much a dick. But I do so love it when even I can't tell if I'm trolling or not. I think the rules we apply to animals we should apply to ourselves. People can help themselves, but animals can't. My "wouldn't die for them" does not apply to children, as they are innocent like nonhumanoids. Annyway..

>>133742
And I would rather die than suffer or live in a cage. We're going to have to agree to disagree, I guess.

>>133742
..what? As someone else said, there is a difference between a feral cat and a domestic cat. Domestic cats starve because they cannot catch food. Feral cats can catch their food, but usually not enough to keep them at a healthy weight, especially when in environment dominated by humans.

>>133745
It likely belongs to someone who lives nearby. A lot of cats will beg food from people who don't "own" them. Thank you for trying to help it. And yes, milk is bad for adult cats.

On the subject of domestics vs rehab'd ferals: Feral cats often know the difference between genuinely good people and those likely to hurt them. If they went up to everyone they saw expecting affection, they'd never have survived to adulthood. Kittens raised in a home are spoiled, and that is exactly why they cannot survive long without human influence.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
Haha,>>133742you pissed me off enough I replied to you twice without realising I was doing it.
>> Anon
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>>133745
Wow, he's out there right now.
He seems to really enjoy the walkway we got
>> Anon
     File :-(, x)
>>133764
Sat there for an hour, but he's eating now.
We have to be careful about how much food we put in, because the neighbor's cat might show up and eat it, and we don't want that.
>> Anonymous
For the OP:

I just wanted to say that, after working in a veterinary clinic for four years, a pet store for another three, and volunteering god only knows how many hours at a local shelter, I have never contracted a single zoonotic disease from any animal, be it feral or domestic. I have been sick many times in my life, but they were all viruses and bugs fucking caught from other PEOPLE. Tell your friends to fuck off. Worried about diseases? Don't go to school, eat fast food, go to clubs... or, fuck, never go anywhere where people might be or touch anything that someone else may have touched, breathed on, looked at funny, etc.

Paranoid faggots.
>> Anon
>>133760
Yeah, I'm not as convinced that this cat is as stray as my parents believe, especially since it survived Hurricane Juan and White Juan. That was quite the year, both the hurricane and the blizzard managed to put out power for a week each.
But it doesn't really beg, it just hangs out around the neighborhood.
>> Anonymous
girl in OP probably ate that cat
>> Anonymous
>>133801

NOM NOM NOM
>> Anonymous
>>133801
She did, but then I ate her.
>ITT Bitter gets raged.
>> Anonymous
Don't let your cats outside because they might make some worthless song bird go extinct. Ecosystems are incredibly fragile as is evidenced by the fact that they have been easily wiped out throughout Earth's history. They never just change or adapt to new predators and/or sudden dye-offs.
>> Anonymous
>>133866
>dye-offs

Is this some subtle reference to gay parades? Are you asserting environmentalists to be homosexual?
>> Anonymous
>>133789
Hello fellow Nova Scotian anon. :D
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>133874
>>133852
This thread has seen all of my moods:
Helpful animal savior style Bitter,
Conceited and snarky but intelligent Bitter,
RAAR MUST DESTROY HEATHEN Bitter

and now it's "Giggling like a faggot" Bitter. Thanks, fuckers.
>> Anonymous
There's a zoo about an hour away from me the most, if not all, the animals they have are rescues. They even have their own vet/adoption clinic next to the zoo and I'm sure the cats are healthy. They get their own, huge, room filled with toys, scratching posts and a second floor.

With that said, I've taken in almost every stray I could find. Usually I gave them away if they are healthy but some I took in even if I knew they were going to die.
And occasionally I'll move a dog or cat off the road for the sake of respect for the dead.
>> Anonymous
yes I completely understand. at my brothers work there are all these homeless kitties, and I want to take them all home
>> Anonymous
Wait. We're talking about that homeless girl, right?
>> Anonymous
>>134173
Greatest post in this whole thread.
>> A french anonymou
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>>133620
just the same...

When I was a kid, I wanted to save every homeless cat I saw.

Now that I am an adult, I saved two of them. If I was in a house instead of an appartment,I would have take more.

Chawaï (the white one) has been found in front of a house. He's been beaten (he fears our hands) but is soooooo nice. Never hurt us, even when he is afraid.

Moon 's been found on a roof, crying. She is sweet (she is on my knees right now)
>> Anonymous
I let my cats roam free and they kill stuff left and right, I couldn't care less.
>> Anonymous
I want to take in every needy cat.. which is why I stopped looking through ads from the shelters. My husband told me no more cats (we have 3)
It makes me angry when people buy cats from pet stores or breeders, or they want only kittens. A needy cat is more likely to be a loving cat.

When I was in Japan last summer, the campus where I took classes had a colony of cats.... all feral as HELL. One time, I sat still on the grass and let them surround me... I counted 15.. 2 got close enough to pet, but once I got a pet in, they both chickened out and ran. The cats seemed fine on their own actually. The problem was the kittens.. you gotta wonder if they all survive after birth. Which is why I support catching them, neuter/spaying them, and putting them back in the habitat.
I guess it just depends where they roam- the chances of survival.
>> Anonymous
>>134210
That is because you are a horrible person.
>> Anonymous
there are a lot of strays at my job and i always try to pet them at work.

i want to take one home...
>> Anonymous
>>134261
I also get angry when I see people want to buy a cat. I know, blah blah, it's their choice, their pet, etc., but I care too much. I adopted one of my cats when she was 3, apparently pulled from a neglect situation, and one of my cats when she was a kitten, and my now-6-year-old is the most devoted, grateful, loving cat I've ever met. The one I got as a kitten is evil (though loved anyway).
>> Anonymous
>>134261
There are NGOs that catch stary cats and either find a home or neuter them and put them back. Why don't you do volunteer work for them? I do (and still have 6 cats on my own).
>> Anonymous
There's a stray cat in my neighboorhood that I feed. He's ungodly skinny, often beat up, and shows signs of sickness (second eyelid drawn up over his eyes is the most noticable). He's also -very- skittish and somewhat aggressive, but I can manage to lure him to my side sometimes with the food.

I think there's some hope for him (he's bold enough to approach me, if I've got food and stand very still) to calm down and be a housecat. I'm really worried about him, I can't take him in but I'd like to get him to a vet or at least a shelter where he'll be fed and taken care of.

Live traps will take months to get (long waiting list) and I've got the other cats in the neighborhood to avoid catching. He's gotten inside my house (cat door) but he's too cautious to let me sneak around him. Any suggestions?
>> Anonymous
>>134413
I guess if you don't want to get a trap, all you can do is keep building up his trust until you can catch him. Also, what about a big net?
>> Anonymous
>>134418

I was thinking about putting something (like a blanket or other cloth item) under the place where he'll sit and eat. Unfortunately if I screw up and he gets loose, I'll be back at square one (or possibly 0).

I haven't tried petting him, but if I put my hand too near him (say, to push a cat treat closer to him), he'll swat at my hand, but without claws.
>> Anonymous
>>134418
hmmmm, if the cat is starving try microwaving wet cat food and placing that food inside the net on a plate. When he comes to eat, lift up net and enjoy your new cat
>> Anonymous
>>134419
You said he comes in to your house sometimes, right? Block the cat door first before you do that. You'll probably traumatize the shit out of him no matter how you catch him, but it sounds like he needs help.
>> Anonymous
>>134421
>>134424

I feed him wet food, but usually scoop it out of the can myself and sort of toss it to him so he associates me with the food. I don't know how I'll rig up the whole net idea, but I'll figure out a way. What about wearing gardening gloves and grabbing him? Sound like it would work?
>> Anonymous
yes.
>> Anonymous
>>134430
You'll need more than gardening gloves. Wear a really thick coat too. Cats can bend in ways you wouldn't imagine. In fact, get a full suit of body armor. And, I think like... a big butterfly net, with a handle, would be easier. So you can throw it over him, as opposed to trying to flip something up from under him.
>> Anonymous
>>134456

That's what I was afraid of. That cat can JUMP. Butterfly net most likely will not work, as he's -very- skittish and and sudden movements (besides tossing food) means he's 50 ft away in a heartbeat.

The net on the ground idea I can work with, I might be able to pull the far edge (I feed him on a porch so there's really only one exit) up and over him and trap him.
>> Anonymous
>>134462

you only get one shot.

mess up and he'll never trust you again.
>> Anonymous
>>134462
You know, I remember seeing some plans for building your own feral cat trap a while back. What if you set it out when you know he's there and put his food in it? It would really suck if you couldn't catch him in the cloth or whatever.
>> Anonymous
>>134466
bah, this anon is correct.

>>134462
instead of that net on the ground thing, just make a trail of that food into one of those cat crates. You know, the ones with a door. Easiest, and safest as you don't need to slam it shut the first time. If you're this patient, you can let the cat associate the crate with food/safety and eventually close it without insane reaction time. Then, when you do this, make sure to WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ok? Ok.
>> Anonymous
>>134470
Awesome idea. Listen to this anon. That's how I got my dog used to his crate, by feeding him in it.
>> Anonymous
Oh, the crate's a good idea. He's a smart cat, and I'm pretty sure he's domesticated and knows what it is, but if he doesn't fall for it, he won't hate me and I can try another idea.