Blog

Animal Rescue Tales

To All the Paulina's

How hard is it to feed a stray cat on the street?  Paulina feeds several cats in a Queens, NY neighborhood within a 10-block radius, 365 days out of the year.  She is out there in the cold, in the heat, when it rains or snows.  All the cats are feral and though they won’t come near her, they depend on her to get fed and Paulina can’t sleep until she has fed them all.  It is a labor of love, caring and compassion, but what Paulina has to deal with to get these cats fed is... intolerable people! So, she goes through the night trying to avoid them.  Not an easy thing to do!  People make it extremely difficult and uncomfortable for her by harassing her, watching her as if she is doing something awful or against the law, breaking and smashing the plastic plates she puts the food in, turning over the cat’s water bowl and worse waiting until she leaves to throw away the poor cat’s food. Why?  Why are people so mean?  She has been confronted by hostile, rude and insensitive people, some of them dog owners who allege cats make the poor dogs pull them away and other ridiculous claims.  Honestly, isn’t it normal for a dog to want to investigate a cat?  They should worry instead about the barbaric choke collars they have around their dogs neck!

Stray cats’ live a very sad and wretched life on the streets, some die of starvation or get run over by a car, they get attacked by mean people, some of whom sic their dogs on them.  They are stressed and hyper-vigilant, always watching their backs and looking for a warm and safe place to sleep.  They don’t ask for much just food and food is something every living thing needs.  Getting fed isn’t asking for much, but it just bothers some people!

Paulina has to worry about not placing the food on anyone’s property, even though some of them think the sidewalk is theirs.  It’s a shame people can’t bring themselves to share a little corner of their sprawling yard or driveway with a lonely, hungry cat.  There was that time when a heartless woman caught Paulina feeding a cat in a walkway near her house.  She made her throw away the food and clean the spot where the food was, while the cat waited hungrily in the bushes.  She would have cleaned any mess the woman wanted, but why could she not let the hungry cat eat?  That is beyond reason! Paulina has to be careful even when she puts food under a car on a rainy day.  So many little things about feeding cats bother these apathetic folks; yet they put up with garbage tossed on their property from passersby or the dog poop bags found strewn all over the streets, what about the unhealthy pollution in the air from cars and factories, the chemicals that have destroyed the soil and so much more.  NO, it bothers them to see a caring human being showing compassion toward little creatures in need of help!  Sadly, there are no means to protect these caring feeders and some people will always be spiteful and unsympathetic. I hope some laws will be created to protect the stray cats and all the Paulina's, the kind people who feed them. 

To get more insight into the lives of cats in hostile neighborhoods listen to Episode 26 - Unfriendly Neighbors and all the episodes with Scat the Cat (see the Show Notes for Scats episodes) or click here.  All the episodes are sprinkled with humor,are educational and great for children.  Also, we love comments or feedback, please leave them on our social media pages, thank you!

**********

The Scarlet Tanager Warbler

About 2 weeks ago I saw an unusual little yellow and green bird about 12 blocks from where I live. It was flying low and I almost caught it but it got away. I thought maybe it belonged to someone and had escaped. I was worried for the little bird. The next day, like a miracle the same bird was on my block and amazingly I was able to pick it up with no problem!!! I kept it in the bathroom overnight and away from Marmaly my cat! The next day I took it to the Wild Bird Fund on Columbus Ave and 87th street (NYC) and they said it might have a concussion! I followed up with an email and this is the news I received about the little beauty!

Dear Angela,

I am very happy to tell you that the Scarlet Tanager you brought in to us on October 11 was able to make a full recovery, and was released back into the wild. On arrival, we saw that the bird had signs of a window strike injury -- she had a concussion from the impact. We gave this bird fluids and anti-inflammatory medication to bring the swelling down around the head. After three days of treatment, rest, and quiet, she was fully recovered and ready to return to her migration.

Thank you for rescuing this bird and bringing her to us. She was in need of help, and would not have survived without your intervention.

 Sincerely,

The Wild Bird Fund Animal Care Team.

© Copyright The KIT BULL Story