mantra wrote on Jun 27^th, 2017 at 10:30am:

  I have 3 yes and maybe  another coming up - but thinking that maybe one too many-I only have the 2 sisters because the owner didnt want to separate them and they were so attached to each other but my heart gets in the way most of the time and they are so cute- I really wanted the one so I could bond with it as an only cat- but my old girl who died didnt have a companion cat and I often wondered if she was lonely for company other than me-

The shelter cat was a street cat and was born into a line of immune deprived cats- her mother would have been a stray as well- she had a problem with the pads on the bottom of her paws and I looked it up online and it was a blood disease that would have cost anything from a simple course of antibiotics ( 300 min) or a blood cancer ( a LOT of money) - she was also extremely underweight from generations of mal-nourishment- but she was a beautiful girl and if there was a way I could have kept her I would have- I was looking at a lifetime of vet visits with this girl in a place that sees a vet at best once a month- and this is an untenable situation tbh

Cods a little kitty will come your way and you will melt- once a cat lover always a cat lover and sounds like your daughter will always have animals that you can love- what about baby sitting the lizard sometimes ?

I haven't seen any stray dogs for years thankfully.

It has been 11 days since I reported these abandoned cats to the RSPCA and finally an inspector came out today. I had the cats ready to go, but he was more scared of picking them up than I was, so of course they escaped into their little hidey holes and he gave up and left me a trap to catch them. I can't do that. It has become so stressful that I'm giving up. I'm going to put a big sign in front of the house asking for cat food donations for these abandoned cats and I'll keep feeding them for the time being because that's easier than trying to get rid of them.

By the time the slack daughter of the deceased man gets around to doing something about the house - with a bit of luck it will be over-run with well fed cats. She can clean up the mess.

cods wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2017 at 2:12pm:


That's a very good idea Cods. Unfortunately the Council has privatised the pound and it only takes dogs now.

Years ago I would have handled this situation quickly and efficiently, but I just can't do it anymore. I also can't leave these animals to starve.

I knew I would have problems with the RSPCA that's why I left contacting them until last. All animal shelters can only handle animals being delivered to them and to do that you have to pick them up and shove them in a cage. People just don't want to pick up cats that they don't know.

This is causing a lot of stress as well as being very expensive and time consuming.

It was about 15 years ago that someone working at the Animal Welfare League told me that the RSPCA had become only a shadow of its former self.

Agnes wrote on Jul 6^th, 2017 at 12:35am:


I suspected that years ago, but it's true. There are so few volunteers around and it's probably because it's too expensive for most people to get involved.

If our society doesn't give a stuff about neglected and abused kids - why would they give a damn about animals? It is all a pretense that people care.

Since I've been feeding these cats a group of children across the road have come to my attention. There are 7 of them - aged between 1 and 15. The mother left after the baby was born and there is a doped up father looking after all these desperate children. They are out on the street in this freezing weather at 7 am (when I feed the cats) in shorts, T-shirts and bare feet. They are always hungry and begging for attention.

Every time they see me or my daughter - 5 of the youngest - aged 4 to 13, come running up and surround us. They just want to be cuddled and talked to. They are small, thin and neglected, but basically sweet souls. How long will they stay that way? Their mother - a junkie - rarely visits them.

Aside from a kind Christian neighbour living nearby who buys them clothes nobody else cares. They are considered feral and the sad thing is these children know it.

Here I am whinging about abandoned animals when in this prosperous country - abandoned children are also ignored.

I wish we could gradually get rid of all cats in Australia. Too many stray, go feral or semi feral, bogans don’t take the time and money to have their cats neutered etc.

Dogs may stray etc but not like cats.

It may also be better to just painlessly euthanise a lot of the stray cats, can’t save them all.

cods wrote on Jul 7^th, 2017 at 4:27pm:


Cods - these children are neglected in many ways, but they don't fall into the category of abused or starving children even though they are always hungry. They go to school and they are fairly bright. You can't call the authorities because they are emotionally needy, thin and aren't dressed in warm clothes. They don't have a mother to care for them - only a depressed father who can barely cope. How many single parents could cope well with 7 young children?

To anyone living in comfort it is a horrible sight, but the children are very close and protective of each other. Calling the authorities would only ensure that the family was split up.

There would be thousands of Australian families living in these sort of circumstances.  I can recall my own childhood when kids like this were so commonplace that no-one thought twice about it.

mantra wrote on Jul 12^th, 2017 at 9:55am:


You will have friends for life Mantra and that isnt a bad thing- I have 2 teenage kittens (15 weeks) and they are a handful I can tell you- but very very cute-