Have you ever heard a cat cry? Not the whine they do when dinnertime is a few minutes late, or even the wailing when they are on their way to the vet. No, I am talking about the sobbing of utter despair, when all hope is lost. That’s what Beth, a Toronto-based rescuer, heard when she and a friend visited what has to be one of the rawest, roughest animal control facilities that exist in North America.
This rural shelter doesn’t even have cages for its cats — it has old, rusty carriers, stacked one on top of the other on metal sleeves. The two overworked employees rotate shifts and are on 24-hour call. The carriers are only cleaned every two to three days, and if there is an emergency… food and water for the cats will have to wait. Flies buzz constantly around the room and the cats don’t get names or even cage cards. Death is commonplace here, and the vet might come by to euthanize cats at any time — there is no set schedule. The first time Beth went there, she and her fellow rescuers saved 20 cats from these unspeakable conditions, only to discover that there were four left behind who would be euthanized the next day. Luckily, these kitties were rescued early in the morning just in time.
But it didn’t take long for those ancient carriers to start filling up again. The next time Beth showed up was when she heard that gut-wrenching sob. It came from a small ginger and white cat, who was huddled in one of the carriers with his black-furred companion. The two of them, eight years old, had just been dumped at the shelter — their human had to go to a nursing home, and her family didn’t want them and apparently didn’t care what happened to them. The pair was scared to death. It was like they knew they didn’t have a chance. Beth knew she had to save them.
When Beth’s friend Crystal fetched the two kitties, she placed them in the car in carriers that faced each other. Tommy and Jet put their paws out to touch on the way to the vet, and snuggled tightly together once they got there. They are that bonded to one another.
Now comes the dilemma: where will Tommy and Jet go? I am loathe to call them seniors because they are about the same age as me, and I don’t feel old. Besides, at eight, a cat still has a lot of quality life left! A couple of rescue organizations in the States have offered to take them, including one in Tennessee that has a “seniors for seniors” program. But is it really okay for these two sensitive souls to travel that far? One of the clinic’s techs has already told Beth that one of the pair seems depressed. Wouldn’t it be better if they could find a home in the Toronto area? It’s a large city, and there has to be someone out there, senior or not, who would love to have a pair of mature kitties who want nothing more than to keep each other company in a nice home.
To find out more about these seniors — and the great work that Beth is doing in rescue — visit her website, House of the Discarded. And please spread the word about this bonded pair of kitties — they really need a home now!
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They are beautiful and we purr they will find a loving forever home together soon…Beth is a wonderful person; the previous owner’s family should be ashamed of themselves…Have a happy day, sweet friends…kisses…Calle, Halle, Sukki
I have a will and there is a requirement that my cats be kept in the way they are accustomed or my neice doesn’t get any money; there is money just for their care (my neice is 16 now and loves cats too, but I felt I had to protect my babies legally)…J
Oh how sad! We’re going to purr like crazy that they find a good home, and keep our paws crossed!
That makes me so sad too , horrible for them.
It breaks my heart that there are “shelters” like that still around that are not even able to provide the basic requirements for humane treatment. I hope those sweet kitties find a wonderful Forever home together, and mostly that something can be done to bring that shelter up to the most basic of standards.
Darn it all Sparkle, that made our Mom’s eyes fill with tears. That is so sad. I sure hope they can find a wonderful home for those two and make sure they go together. Thanks for posting this. Maybe someone will come forward.
Have a great day.
Sparkle,
I will post too. I hope that Tommy and Jet will get a new loving forever home. Thank you to Beth and you for helping.
xoxo
Mom heart feels broken for all of the kitties in that awful place! We are sending our purrayers to those two and ALL of the other kitties, that they get out of there and find wonderful furrever homes.
We hope Tommy and Jet find a forever home together!
Lots of blinking going on here…very heart wrenching situation there…but at least now there is hope. My therapist asked me recently, if there will ever be a time when I don’t worry about my cats and all the kittens I have brought into the world out there. I told her no, I always have them on my mind and while I have made arrangements for my 5 cats should I become incapacitated, I fear for them all. What I think is proper care, someone else might feel is exhorbitant. Recently a similar situation arose with a kitty owned by a client where I work. She wanted the kitty euthanized when she died and the ashes put in with hers. Her family didn’t do that, and then complained with the elderly care needed for this kitty was expensive, so they aren’t taking care of it like I am sure the client would have liked. That is a difficult place to be and in this instance, I feel like the owners wishes were ignored and that isn’t what she wanted ‘to be able to rest in peace’…
We read about Tommy and Jet on Beth’s blog (along with the details on that horrible “shelter”) and we are so glad they were rescued! We hope so much that someone in the area will give them a forever home – and we are sending them and Beth (and ALL the other kitties at the “shelter”) many many purrs and good thoughts.
oh how sad…goat hugs
We’ve been following Beth’s blog for a little while now. Our mom couldn’t watch the video, she just couldn’t. She doesn’t know how Beth does this every day, but bless her for doing it. We’re purring hard that these sweeties find a good home – on either side of the border! — and that sufficient publicity can bring attention to this so-called “shelter” and effect some positive changes.
Oh man, that is so, so sad. We are purring and praying that Jet and Tommy find a forever together home real soon.
We are purring that a loving Forever Home can be found for them. We are sad for all the other kitties that end up in that horrible place.
We are so happy that Tommy and Jet were gotten out of that “shelter”. Our mom couldn’t bring herself to watch the videos either – just reading about them broke her heart. We sure hope and continue to purr that someone close by can give them a home.
-Pip, Smidgen, Minnie
Oh this is so sad. These stories always break our hearts and makes us wish we could give a home to every homeless kitty out there. We are purring really hard that these two find a home so soon and we also hope that shelter gets cleaned up and treats the kitties better.
This one made me cry – & like many others, I couldn’t bring myself to watch the videos. I just posted a link to this story on my bog & am really, really hoping that these poor cats find a loving home together.
~Cory (Nico, Simon & JayJay)
(ps.I pulled one of your pictures off your blog – I hope that’s alright!)
We’re all leaky eyed thinking about horrible places like that. We sure hope these two find a loving home soon.
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids
So sorry for these two kitties. So glad they were pulled. Now we hope they get a wonderful home together.
This is so sad. Crazy and I keep planning to make a will where Sher should have enough that would help him have a life he leads now. We are reaching 30 this year; but no one can tell when accidents occur- and you should always always have a will… You are never too young for a will.
Looks like I should really stop being a slack.
Thanks for this, Sparkle.
I am so sad to here about this “warehousing” of these beautiful creatures. I hope these two lovely “babies” find a MUCH better home 🙂
WE are purring these two beauties find a home close by. Us kitties find traveling stressful, so we understand why Beth thanks that would be best for them.
I hope they find a forever home, soon.
I am a kitty from Canada that flew very far to live in the U.S.. It’s not a fun trip but it was so worth it! I love it in the U.S.. And there’s nothing better than a little country music to soothe the soul. I say fly kitties fly – go to Tennessee and get out your boots! 🙂
I am sad that my homeland doesn’t have a better shelter. That sounds worse than us being on the streets!!