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What kind of life does a cat deserve?
Barn cats, euthanasia and finding the perfect home
I used to live in Wichita Falls, Texas. One lady in my writers’ group had 18 cats. No, that is not a typo. Most of these were outdoor cats. She fed them and got them to the vet once a year. She couldn’t really afford it, however.
Several of us helped out when we could. We’d chip in for vet visits and bring over food. I remember the first time I hauled over a bag for her felines.
“Why do you have so many cats?” I asked as I cradled a fluff ball in my arms.
“What else am I going to do? Some of these aren’t friendly, if I took them to the shelter they’d just be killed.”
It was true. While she had a core group of about 6 cats that liked people, the rest did not. They grudgingly allowed her to approach them because she was the source of their food. Occasionally she was able to sneak a caress. That wouldn’t cut it at the shelter, where they’d be competing with adorable kittens and cuddly, friendly adult cats.
“Our shelter sucks anyway,” my friend went on. It seems I’d just got her started, as she ranted for several minutes. One of her big beefs with the local animal shelter was that they had such stringent adoption requirements.
