I posted a nice mini rantlet, and then found out that it was a response to an old entry...

[conuly]

So here it is for youse guys:

Several years running, I've been taking care of kittens, mostly from strays or near strays. Some of them were abandoned, some of them died, it's not pretty. Note one, fix your pets. Critical. I should've done that myself, but I didn't, and it was wrong.

Kittens die. Kittens get abandoned by mothers who were never socialized properly, or who have their babies too young, or who just aren't good mothers. I actually lost quite a few kittens to chronic respiriatory infections... I just found out recently that the cats in this neighborhood have a tendancy to congenital deformities of the respiratory tract. I should've suspected that sooner, of course, as many of the cats I raised have had trouble speaking (very high pitched voice, scratchy) and constant respiratory problems. Note two, definitely get your pet fixed if there's a genetic problem or if they already abandoned one litter.

However, the big killer of kittens is FLEAS. Fleas. Kill. Your kitten has fleas, your kitten promptly becomes anemic because the fleas drink blood (iron). Fleas carry tapeworm eggs. Fleas cause your kitten to scratch, causing infections. Fleas can carry the plague. Most commonly, though, fleas cause anemia. Fleas. Kill.

I know people think fleas, not a big deal, just an annoyance. That is a myth. Fleas are, in fact, deadly. I'm at the point where if I find a kitten (I don't go looking anymore, I really can't take care of them properly right now) the first thing I do is check the gums. Half the time, the gums are white. And white gums mean fleas.

So. Just to summarize: Fix your cat, and remember that fleas kill.

This has been a public service announcement.

Comments

[aquamizuko.livejournal.com]

I think it'd be good if people kept their cats indoors, too. I've never personally had a cat, but I've heard indoor cats live longer.

[conuly]

Welllll....

There's arguments, good and bad, for both sides of this view. Obviously, in a big city or near a highway, your cat should be indoors. But in the country, if you are conscientious about defleaing/deworming and your cat's shots, you might decide that letting them out is the better choice. To some people, a cat can't have a good "quality of life" kept inside.

Also, I believe the statistics for outdoor cats are flawed, based on the numbers for outdoor pets who aren't given their shots and whatever, outdoor pets who are, strays, ferals, etc. That all helps skew the numbers in favor of indoor cats... but I know outdoor cats who are older than any cat I've had inside.

[aquamizuko.livejournal.com]

Ah.. I guess part of the reason I wish people would keep them inside is because I end up with cat stuff in my garden and such, which I don't really appreciate.. :\ That and cats eating birds in my yard. I agree that it'd probably be fine in the country though.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

My family's cats are indoor/outdoor. They come and go pretty much as they please, as long as a human notices and lets them in/out when they want. We've had a few cats run over during all those years, but most of them live(d) to be pretty ancient. Our last cat who died lived to be almost 20. Our current ancient kitty is a finicky arrogant snob who has only recently decided human food is TASTY and is worth trying to sneak a bite from unwatched plates. I got tired of her getting under our feet in the kitchen when she wants food, so I trained her to be on the feeding bench IMMEDIATELY or she gets promptly shoved out the kitchen. Although she's underfoot ALL THE TIME, she still makes a loud fuss when someone DARES trip over her. She'll either die of self-starvation (such a very picky eater and won't eat more than a few bites of the same food within a day) or being stepped/tripped on. She's nearly 17.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

Ohh...and most of our cats are strays and promptly fixed when it became apparent they were here to stay. :-)

[joeymew.livejournal.com]

Both of my psycho kitties are fixed and kept deflea-ed ^-^

I have to keep them indoors though, because there are a lot of coyotes in my area. I'd rather not have them be lunch.

[conuly]

Which is perfectly reasonable :)

We used to have a pet coyote... well, we thought she was a (tamed) coyote, anyway. Just showed up at our door one day when we still lived in Louisiana, and caught all her own food.

[joeymew.livejournal.com]

Cute! I've only actually seen a coyote once, a few weeks ago. But my dad has seem them while driving lots of times.

[shoumagic.livejournal.com]

Mitzy is an indoor cat but Artemis isn't... He's used to being out doors and will meow for you to let him out at night. There's a lot of other stray cats around the neighbourhood as well... I gave them all names and if I could have I would have taken them in but I can't... I do make sure that they get fed though.

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

All our cats are fixed except this stray kitten that's adopted us. Mom keeps hemming and hawing around fixing him because "he'll hate her!" I'm tempted to go out there and catch him myself if that's what it comes to, so he'll hate me and not her. Our neighbor's outside cat isn't fixed (and that's a PET, Spot's a stray cat) but I know once Spot's old enough, we'll get blamed for getting Cinnamon pregnant and it'll be our job to do something about the kittens.

Sorry. Just had to rant because this is seriously annoying me to no end.

[georgiapeachy.livejournal.com]

I agree, my cat Andy was found in a barn and when I took him to the vet the vet said he found had died from an infestation of fleas/ear mites if I hadn't brought him in. I was surprised, because fleas don't seem like killers, but it makes since since if a kitten is arleady struggling and then losing blood...

[aquamizuko.livejournal.com]

I think it'd be good if people kept their cats indoors, too. I've never personally had a cat, but I've heard indoor cats live longer.

[conuly]

Welllll....

There's arguments, good and bad, for both sides of this view. Obviously, in a big city or near a highway, your cat should be indoors. But in the country, if you are conscientious about defleaing/deworming and your cat's shots, you might decide that letting them out is the better choice. To some people, a cat can't have a good "quality of life" kept inside.

Also, I believe the statistics for outdoor cats are flawed, based on the numbers for outdoor pets who aren't given their shots and whatever, outdoor pets who are, strays, ferals, etc. That all helps skew the numbers in favor of indoor cats... but I know outdoor cats who are older than any cat I've had inside.

[aquamizuko.livejournal.com]

Ah.. I guess part of the reason I wish people would keep them inside is because I end up with cat stuff in my garden and such, which I don't really appreciate.. :\ That and cats eating birds in my yard. I agree that it'd probably be fine in the country though.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

My family's cats are indoor/outdoor. They come and go pretty much as they please, as long as a human notices and lets them in/out when they want. We've had a few cats run over during all those years, but most of them live(d) to be pretty ancient. Our last cat who died lived to be almost 20. Our current ancient kitty is a finicky arrogant snob who has only recently decided human food is TASTY and is worth trying to sneak a bite from unwatched plates. I got tired of her getting under our feet in the kitchen when she wants food, so I trained her to be on the feeding bench IMMEDIATELY or she gets promptly shoved out the kitchen. Although she's underfoot ALL THE TIME, she still makes a loud fuss when someone DARES trip over her. She'll either die of self-starvation (such a very picky eater and won't eat more than a few bites of the same food within a day) or being stepped/tripped on. She's nearly 17.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

Ohh...and most of our cats are strays and promptly fixed when it became apparent they were here to stay. :-)

[joeymew.livejournal.com]

Both of my psycho kitties are fixed and kept deflea-ed ^-^

I have to keep them indoors though, because there are a lot of coyotes in my area. I'd rather not have them be lunch.

[conuly]

Which is perfectly reasonable :)

We used to have a pet coyote... well, we thought she was a (tamed) coyote, anyway. Just showed up at our door one day when we still lived in Louisiana, and caught all her own food.

[joeymew.livejournal.com]

Cute! I've only actually seen a coyote once, a few weeks ago. But my dad has seem them while driving lots of times.

[shoumagic.livejournal.com]

Mitzy is an indoor cat but Artemis isn't... He's used to being out doors and will meow for you to let him out at night. There's a lot of other stray cats around the neighbourhood as well... I gave them all names and if I could have I would have taken them in but I can't... I do make sure that they get fed though.

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

All our cats are fixed except this stray kitten that's adopted us. Mom keeps hemming and hawing around fixing him because "he'll hate her!" I'm tempted to go out there and catch him myself if that's what it comes to, so he'll hate me and not her. Our neighbor's outside cat isn't fixed (and that's a PET, Spot's a stray cat) but I know once Spot's old enough, we'll get blamed for getting Cinnamon pregnant and it'll be our job to do something about the kittens.

Sorry. Just had to rant because this is seriously annoying me to no end.

[georgiapeachy.livejournal.com]

I agree, my cat Andy was found in a barn and when I took him to the vet the vet said he found had died from an infestation of fleas/ear mites if I hadn't brought him in. I was surprised, because fleas don't seem like killers, but it makes since since if a kitten is arleady struggling and then losing blood...