A woman I know sets her alarm for 4 a.m. every day. She doesn't take days off for vacations. Twice a day for several hours she makes her rounds, summer and winter, to feed the estimated 100 cats that depend upon her in four different locations in her village. Andrea is only 23 and has been doing this charity work for seven years now. Between her rounds, she also has a full-time job.
The cats she has saved from starving and freezing are not hers even though now she views each and every cat as an individual and loves them all. They are all castoff animals, dumped, abandoned and left to breed over and over and fend for themselves. She has spent around $10,000 of her own (and her parent's) money on vet bills to treat and to spay and neuter all those cats. She also absorbs the cost of feeding and providing shelters to these felines. And she traps them one by one and transports them to vets for the surgery.
Saving so many cats and giving them a decent life has taken a toll on her. She gets very angry that so many people abandon cats and kittens.
Her anger also extends to those who don't spay and neuter their pet cats and then let them spend time outdoors where they inevitably get pregnant or get someone else's cat pregnant. It is to be noted that the average lifespan of pet cats allowed outdoors is only two to three years.
Another animal angel who has been saving cats for many years has recently become a foster home for Animal Advocates. She is a retired school teacher who, with her farmer husband, built a little building behind their house where homeless cats can stay until they can be adopted. The little building has shelves for sitting, ramps for climbing and plenty of toys as well as soft beds.
She also absorbs the cost of their food and vet bills. She has paid for the spaying and neutering of countless cats over the years.
The sad news is that the two kittens that live there now have been diagnosed with feline leukemia.
They probably will succumb to the disease, but she is determined to give them the best possible life in the meantime.
No more cats and kittens can be taken in by her since the disease could be passed on to any newcomers. (Animal Advocates is in desperate need of temporary foster homes for kittens).
This lady also has 14 cats in the house and many more living and being cared for in the barn. She too spends much of her time feeding cats and changing kitty litter and generally making them all comfortable.
She has also rescued ducks, chickens and geese. And she, too, is angry. She has rescued kittens that were thrown into a ditch and one that was found in a bag on the road.
On the other end of the spectrum, I also hear too many stories of people who turn their backs on a homeless dog or cat with the excuse “it'll just hang around if I feed it.” Or “maybe someone else will do it.” They are able to ignore the sad eyes, the plea for food and water and a bit of shelter, the bewilderment at ending up rejected and lost.
The reasons for giving to animals vary as much as the people who do it. Compassion for suffering animals, love for them, duty, guilt - all these motives prompt us to share our time, money and our energy to help.
Scientists tell us it literally benefits our health.
Both of the ladies mentioned above are only two of the many people who do so much to help cats and dogs and other animals in need in our county.
We at Animal Advocates will gratefully accept and pass along cat and dog food, dog houses, crates, humane traps, cat or dog beds and donations. We also need temporary foster homes.
Foster families take care of kittens while Animal Advocates does the advertising and screening for permanent homes. The average fostering time is three weeks.
Judy Vorreuter is the founder and director of Animal Advocates of the Finger Lakes. Contact her at judy@cayugaanimaladvocates.org
Saving so many cats and giving them a decent life has taken a toll on her. She gets very angry that so many people abandon cats and kittens.
Her anger also extends to those who don't spay and neuter their pet cats and then let them spend time outdoors where they inevitably get pregnant or get someone else's cat pregnant. It is to be noted that the average lifespan of pet cats allowed outdoors is only two to three years.
Another animal angel who has been saving cats for many years has recently become a foster home for Animal Advocates. She is a retired school teacher who, with her farmer husband, built a little building behind their house where homeless cats can stay until they can be adopted. The little building has shelves for sitting, ramps for climbing and plenty of toys as well as soft beds.
She also absorbs the cost of their food and vet bills. She has paid for the spaying and neutering of countless cats over the years.
The sad news is that the two kittens that live there now have been diagnosed with feline leukemia.
They probably will succumb to the disease, but she is determined to give them the best possible life in the meantime.
No more cats and kittens can be taken in by her since the disease could be passed on to any newcomers. (Animal Advocates is in desperate need of temporary foster homes for kittens).
This lady also has 14 cats in the house and many more living and being cared for in the barn. She too spends much of her time feeding cats and changing kitty litter and generally making them all comfortable.
She has also rescued ducks, chickens and geese. And she, too, is angry. She has rescued kittens that were thrown into a ditch and one that was found in a bag on the road.
On the other end of the spectrum, I also hear too many stories of people who turn their backs on a homeless dog or cat with the excuse “it'll just hang around if I feed it.” Or “maybe someone else will do it.” They are able to ignore the sad eyes, the plea for food and water and a bit of shelter, the bewilderment at ending up rejected and lost.
The reasons for giving to animals vary as much as the people who do it. Compassion for suffering animals, love for them, duty, guilt - all these motives prompt us to share our time, money and our energy to help.
Scientists tell us it literally benefits our health.
Both of the ladies mentioned above are only two of the many people who do so much to help cats and dogs and other animals in need in our county.
We at Animal Advocates will gratefully accept and pass along cat and dog food, dog houses, crates, humane traps, cat or dog beds and donations. We also need temporary foster homes.
Foster families take care of kittens while Animal Advocates does the advertising and screening for permanent homes. The average fostering time is three weeks.
Judy Vorreuter is the founder and director of Animal Advocates of the Finger Lakes. Contact her at judy@cayugaanimaladvocates.org
