Kaplods - One of my cats (the one of 2 pets that I know had previous homes) was similar to that with very little information about her. The foster mom who had only had her for 2 weeks had a lot more information about her. She was a 2 year old cat and didn't know how to play! She has since learned how to play and it has been almost a year since we got her and she is getting more playful every day. She is an awesome cat, very sweet and I couldn't imagine anyone giving her up but they didn't know how to spay/neuter their pets and after 2 years of having her, I guess they decided she was one of the extras.

One thing that bothers me about our last cat having died so young (only 4) of a heart problem, I can't shake the feeling that the previous owners might have discovered it, and given her away without disclosing it. I have no solid evidence, and I'm probably just going down one of the many "what if" path's that I've gone down since her death, but the volunteers at the shelter haven't really calmed my fears in that regard. I guess it occurs enough that they've seen it, where a family finds out an animal has a health problem they can't deal with, but don't want the critter to be "put to sleep" for the defect, so they try to hide it, hoping the new owner will find out before it kills the animal, and it will be someone else's problem. If that isn't backwards reasoning, I don't know what is. Still, I have no evidence that this was the case with our little tortie, I sometimes just wonder.

Those hints and clues of an animal's prior life are endless mysteries. Our ChubChub didn't quite know what we were trying to do when we tried to play with her either. She just looked mystified, and we thought maybe she was just too fat and lazy to be interested, but she's perked up alot and now she gets excited at the sight of a piece of yarn.

She panics when we pick her up, and we wonder if she was dropped (she has a couple of broken toes and her hips are a bit out of whack also - but the hips could be just ordinary arthritis, but the toes have obviously been injured).

It's hard not knowing, but as Caesar is so fond of saying about dogs, cats too live in the moment. Her now is all that matters, and I need to remember that.

If you ever start to get allergies again...you might try acupuncture. The massage therapist I used to see (car crash) said she had life threatening allergies...strawberries, msg, and another couple. She'd gone to the ER more than once because of them. Then, she did a specific type of acupuncture and can now eat strawberries and all the rest of the stuff that would send her to the hospital. That is just one person's account, but it might be worth looking into.

A cat was dumped at our house. She was very timid at first, but we were able to win her trust. She was a beautiful calico, about a year and a half old. She lived 9 months with us before we found out she had feline leukemia. She was in essence drowning because the fluid was filling her lungs faster than the vet could drain it out but she was still constantly trying to purr...though it was more a gargle. We had to put her to sleep of course. We figure that her owners found out she had it, then just ditched her. Thankfully she wasn't hit, we lived in the city, not the country and we lived near two very very busy streets. At least the last 9 months of her life were spent with lots of reasons to purr.

Just want to strangle some people! My husband's uncle would be a good one to start with IMHO.

I am a leasing agent in an apartment complex & We have the same problem month after month. An irresponsible human will move out & just leave their cat(s), (there is the odd dog, but it is mostly cats) to wander the grounds. I don't know if they just don't give a rat's butt, don't have the sense of a rock or really just don't think there is anything wrong with it. Our Animal Control here in the county only adds to the situation, they will not come for a cat unless it is sick or injured, they have deemed them a wild species, I have adopted a move out cat, & she is the sweetest thing, but She was dumped last June( avg temp here in the desert 110ish) w/o a care to what was going to happen to Her. Maomao & My dog have become the best of friends, I go & get the shots, I have cat issues- hives, swelling of eyes etc. I am a proud Humanimal for My local ASPCA. There are a few times We can turn a passing tenant in for abandonment, but very few. We have started doing pet portfolios to add to lease jackets, in hopes of being able to determine who leaves a pet upon move out to fend for it's self. Sorry for the diatribe Ladies

I used to belong to 2 Pug rescues here in Winnipeg. At both of them, we would ALWAYS make sure the dog was spayed/neutered. And if it was a puppy, then the person would have to sign a contract to say that they would not breed that puppy and at 5 months (age), we would contact that person and make an appt for the surgery (the rescue would cover the cost). Also, we would do a home visit, to make sure the person would qualify and in some situations we would let the family foster the dog first just to make sure it was the right match for the family.

I think it would just depend on the rescue when it comes to rules etc.

Oh my my my! I could go on about this forever too!

One of my biggest gripes is people who "adopt" pets from pet stores or breeders. Really? Your paid $400 for a purebred that has encouraged the person/puppymill that you bought it from to continue breeding? Awesome. Adoption is giving a pet a second chance to be loved.

I also HATE that people think that just because you breed purebreds you aren't adding to the problem! There are 7-8 million pets that enter shelters each year and 3-4 MILLION HEALTHY animals that are put to sleep (facts from last class)! If you think the world can't live without your litter of purebred pups or the genetics in your line, you are WRONG.

Sorry if this seems angry, but I spend A LOT of time volunteering in shelters. Some of the things I see people do makes me sick. There are NEVER enough families for pets. Period. There is absolutely no need for more. Besides, many purebreds are so riddled with genetic problems.

There are so many horrible and disgusting practices involved with pets. There are some people that you just want to hit.

One thing that I would definitely add to the list is that breeders should have to agree to find homes even for problem puppies. My mother once adopted a papillon because she got a frantic call from a friend who worked at a vet. A breeder had brought in this 10 month old boy and asked to have him put down. The problem? One of his testicles had not descended and he would never be able to breed. They had been told by the vet that he had to be neutered or he would likely develop testicular cancer. Nobody would pay the breeder thousands of dollars for this "defective" dog, so the a$$h*le just wanted to put an otherwise healthy animal to sleep. My mother took him, had him neutered, and named him Charlie. He was an awesome pup.

It's good to hear some responsible people talk about animals. 5 day's a week I have to hear.
* Is this 7 week old puppy house-trained?
* Does this dog bark? Because we don't want a barking dog
* Does this dog loose hair? All dogs loose hair, just some more, some less...
or, oh you want money for the animal, I go get me a free one.
There is no such thing as a free animal.

I have been volunteering (full time) at a no kill private shelter for 2 years now and sometimes my hair stand's up what we get to hear.
I would say at least 50% of people coming to the shelter should never have an animal.

Well it is late, I volunteered for the Sunday morning clean um (which makes it 6 days a week), since we are short on Volunteers. Have to be there to shovel you know what and feed the animals (cats and dogs) at 5am.
So good night everyone!

Les