Bad News
First, the port authority in NYC is apparently full of cat haters. After months of negotiations between the port authority and cat rescue groups, the port authority has decreed death to the hundreds of feral cats living at JFK airport. You can read about it here and here. It makes me sick to my stomach to even think about it. If this blog can do anything beyond saving 'my' colony, I hope it's to raise interest and awareness about the overabundance of feral cats, their plight, and the need for volunteers to trap, neuter, return and manage them. I hope I can inspire others to help 'their' colonies.
The second bit of bad news is closer to home. Given that it's kitten season (as evidenced by the kitten and the smell of baby food in my bathroom), it was surprising that no kittens had been seen in this colony before the adults were altered. Today as I was taking the baby on an outing (see below), I ran into the DNL who was in quite the talkative mood. Unfortunately, it was about a litter of kittens who had evidently been born on her patio-- and had been there, dead, for two weeks. Admittedly I don't know how long she had known about them (but they were on her patio) but why why why didn't she do something about them while they were still, y'know, able to be saved?! She knows where I live (she's brought me cake), she couldn't have called me, or someone else, or done anything. While I was there a maintenance guy was removing the bodies, and she had the gall to tell him that they weren't taken care of because the cats had been trapped. I know for a fact that a female cat who is lactating will continue to do so after her surgery. Perhaps yes removing the adult cats caused these kittens to be uncared for and to die (from cold, from lack of milk, I'm not sure), but even if that's true, why didn't the DNL do something sooner rather than blame it on me after the fact?!
Obviously I'm distressed by these kittens' deaths, and I'm deeply upset by my potential role in it. But somehow I don't think I'm the only one at fault here. Weirdly, DNL, who has proudly told me numerous times about how Daisy was born on her patio, is now fiercely declaring that the cats bring bugs and fleas to her patio and she doesn't want them there, especially having kittens. Thankfully there will be no more kittens, but good grief, DNL, choose a story and stick to it.
It doesn't help that the DNL makes me paranoid about the management. She said that they were by her apartment today and were saying that they still want the cats gone. I ... don't think they actually said that, but because the DNL said that to me, I have to look into it now.
Good News
The good news isn't so much news as it is my usual ramblings about cats. I saw Bozo happily eating up on the 2nd floor today. Little Grey Girl was out and about, munching away on the first floor. She seemed really uncertain as to whether she should run from me or not-- she seemed almost put out when I walked past her instead of chasing her! Pictures of LGG and one of Daisy and one of Bessie are in the Project-Cat Part 2 Set.
As for the baby, she continues to thrive. And to get food everywhere. I got a few pictures, which you can see in the Baby Set. A lot of them are of her with baby food all over her. :)
I took her on a field trip today to meet a potential Forever Home. She got along great with her potential forever-mom (falling asleep on her several times, and generally just being really friggin' cute), so this is hopeful. (Best of all, this is a friend of mine, so I'd get to see the baby!) Nothing is definite, a few more things have to happen before this person can even decide, and I don't want to say more, lest I jinx it. ::fingers crossed::
So, there y'go, the good and the bad for today. I hope I continue to have more good.
*dies of cute* SHE IS AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteAm really failing to understand DNL's attitude. How, how could you just...*leave* kittens? Makes. no. sense. Had it been myself or, I should hope, any reasonable person those kittens would have been cared for as well as possible, with or without their mother.