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[Derpy Dev]

 

Every time I start to like people again, every time I stop feeling a burning disgust for humanity, the same thing happens.

Last night, I was a bit thirsty and went downstairs to get something to drink. I found my mother holding a kitten. I said hi as mom explained the situation. Yet again, someone dropped off a litter of three kittens in the woods and left them to die. They can't have been more than a month old. This isn't the first time people have just abandoned animals either. And we have had to adopt so many pets this way.

Just gonna let you know that you shouldn't just abandon animals like that. I have seen so many young, innocent souls die this way. One cat in particular we have has severe PTSD. He is incapable of calming down because of the things he saw after being dropped off in the woods.

So for the love of god, don't just abandon animals.

[Khan Boyzitbig]

I agree, pets are to be cared for not abandoned. I know of one cat which is literally insane because his owners didn't care. If you cannot look after them, give them to someone who can.

[Frumple]

For what it's worth, it might not have been a person. Mother cats can and will abandon most or all of their litter, from time to time, and sometimes just get killed by something while away from them for one reason or another. Abandonment is pretty likely, but a human doing it or it being done intentionally is a decent amount less so.

[martinuzz]

For what it's worth, it might not have been a person. Mother cats can and will abandon most or all of their litter, from time to time, and sometimes just get killed by something while away from them for one reason or another. Abandonment is pretty likely, but a human doing it or it being done intentionally is a decent amount less so.

This. Even housecats to have a tendency to give birth somewhere outside the house, instead of in that nice, cosy basket with a blanket that you prepared for it. And then there's strays. Find a litter in the woods? 99% chance it's not humans that did that, unless they come gift wrapped in a box or bag.

It seems your mother cares about the abandoned animals a lot, and brings them home more often. I hope she realizes that they all do need to be neutered, or by trying to do good and rescueing kittens, she will unwittingly only enlarge the problem once the adoptees start dropping litters in the woods.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

tl;dr crazy cat ladies who don't neuter their horde are one of the main reasons stray cat populations worldwide grow out of control

EDIT: note that I am kindof a crazy cat person myself. I started off with 3 stray kittens I found in my back yard. In between getting enough money to have them all neutered and having 3 litters thrown at me, I now have 6 cats (I did pretty well in finding kittens a new home. Only one per litter stayed). If I had not neutered them, I would have had about 50 kittens per year from just the original 3 cats. They can have 2-3 litters per year. 6 kittens per litter is not unusual. Times 12 years. I would have had to find new homes for 600 kittens.
My neighbor across the street has that problem. He's been having 4-5 litters every year now for the past 5 years. He can't afford to neuter them all, and his own cat herd slowly grows whenever he can't find a new owner for all kittens. I think he has 12 cats now.

[Derpy Dev]

For what it's worth, it might not have been a person. Mother cats can and will abandon most or all of their litter, from time to time, and sometimes just get killed by something while away from them for one reason or another. Abandonment is pretty likely, but a human doing it or it being done intentionally is a decent amount less so.

In some cases, this is quite likely. In other cases, it is less so. We adopted a dog we found on the side of a road, and he seemed pretty happy after that. But it only makes sense that he was dumped because of how he acts around cars. Whenever we need to take him to the vet, he fights us every step of the way and then gives us the saddest look ever, like he believes he did something wrong and wants to know how to make it up.

It seems your mother cares about the abandoned animals a lot, and brings them home more often. I hope she realizes that they all do need to be neutered, or by trying to do good and rescueing kittens, she will unwittingly only enlarge the problem once the adoptees start dropping litters in the woods.

And we do try to neuter them all. We try very hard to keep them from getting pregnant and making more cats, even though occasionally somebody accidentally lets a tom in and the queen gives birth on my bed.

[Playergamer]

people who dump pets are literally subhuman.

like they just need to be killed out of existence.

edit: also if i were elected president i would nuke china.

[scriver]

What about Chile? And England just reallowed the (ceremoniously extra cruel) hunting of nature's cutest little rascal.

[Playergamer]

eh, i've always wanted to nuke england, figured it wasn't worth re-stating.

really we should just end humanity tbh.

[MoonyTheHuman]

[sarcasm]But without humanity we have no dwarf fortress! D: ...but wait, toady isnt a human, he is a soulless programmer who infinitly expands the game. DF shall thrive![/sarcasm]
But on that note, no, it is NOT ok. not trying to be the bad man who ruins the thread.

[Starver]

For what it's worth, it might not have been a person. Mother cats can and will abandon most or all of their litter, from time to time, and sometimes just get killed by something while away from them for one reason or another. Abandonment is pretty likely, but a human doing it or it being done intentionally is a decent amount less so.

Not that it can possibly keep happening, in the OP case, but a couple of years back I and a number of other people had cause to be around the gateway to a stately home, thoughout the day. Behind a log, there were a number of 'abandoned' kittens that the staff at the residence knew all about, because they knew the (mostly-feral) mother that had left them there. A number of visitors even scooped up the kittens and took them to the house, presuming they'd come from there, only to be suggested that they take them back to where they were found (eventually, someone who had the time hovered around the area to quickly brief anyone looking like they'd be about to intervene, and prevent the mostly unnecessary attention).


Obviously kittens clearly dumped in a box (or sack!) are unwanted-by-humans, but some 'dumpings' and unwanted-by-cat kittens might not be easily distinguished from an undumped nest of somebody's furry joy, still cared about...

[scriver]

It's the same problem with people finding lone deer kids in the wild and assuming the mother has left them when it is more likely the mother is just away for the moment and will return.

[Culise]

It's the same problem with people finding lone deer kids in the wild and assuming the mother has left them when it is more likely the mother is just away for the moment and will return.

To be fair, I think it's different from yearlings or other wild, undomesticated animals in a very important manner.  Given the amount of damage feral animals (especially cats and dogs) can do to wildlife and smaller domestic animals alike, reducing the number of potential feral cats strikes me as a good thing.  I think it's OK to take these kittens even if they were being reared in the wild by a feral (or even domestic) mother, where I wouldn't think so if they actually were wild animals. 

[martinuzz]

Yeah it's a bit double. Don't think of sad mama cats looking for their lost litter for weeks, think of preventing more strays.

I found the golden middle road with the kittens I found in my backyard. The mom was a half stray, and after a week of telling her not to try and grab her kittens and move them back outdoors*, she accepted the situation and snuck into my house every so often to come and feed them, and even taught them to mouse-hunt** right under my nose. She eventually got comfy enough to allow being petted, and for the two years to come, she kept returning in between periods of heading off into stray land. The lucky 3 kitten buggers that got a pass to stay (I got the other 4 new owners when they were 8-9 weeks) got like 4 months of breast feeding from the poor thing. They were eating 'normal' kitten food as well, but they were just spoiled little brats like that, and mama cat just tolerated it well beyond normal nursing age before finally telling them to bugger off.
Sadly, I had to move from that place (it were old houses and their demolition day had come), and the weeks leading up to the move, she was nowhere to be seen, or I would have put her in a carrier and taken her with me. She was a gentle and friendly stray. I had to console myself with the thought that the neighborhood's crazy cat lady who fed like 45 strays lived in a house nearby that was not going to be demolished.

*) let's just say I got as little sleep as fresh parents with a newborn baby that week, in between opening and closing doors and windows, and blocking the path of a frustrated half-stray with a kitten in her mouth.
**) this is one of the most awesome things I ever saw cats do. Mama cat was sitting in the middle of a (near perfect round) circle of 7 kittens, and she presented the live mouse she had brought to each one of them in successive order, encouraging them to growl and play with it, before finally killing and eating it in front of them. I still regret not having had a camera at hand to film it.
She taught them well. All three of them cats grew up to be good mouse hunters. They just brought one in two days ago. And ate it, didn't find a trace of it, as usual.

[ChairmanPoo]

I kind of think you should eat the kittens

https://youtu.be/GibiNy4d4gc

[TempAcc]

Eat the cats, then eat the person that abandoned them as well.