by Lola Sims
(Lawrenceburg, KY)
I had five pregnant cats dropped on me in 2001. I called the shelter and humane center who told me they would pick them up but they would only keep them for 4 days then euthanize them.
I had a choice: kill them, take care of them or box up and relocate. I live on a farm at the end of a road that is very private till now. I chose to spay them as I tamed them. These cats were having babies in the river bank and all over the place. Due to having horses and all other wildlife that needed to be protected, I took them to the vet and tamed them down, 6 at a time, spayed and innoculated etc. I did find out that they were dropped off by the worker of the owner of the person that is now complaining.
Over the years I now have about 28 that can not breed and the feeding alone with other needs has not been cheap. I have not checked into the issue of giving them their shots myself since there still are a few that have to be caged and taken to the vet to put to sleep to get their shots. The ones that can be handled the vet gives when he gives the horses their shots.
If anyone knows the regulations for giving these shots yourself please advise me as it has become quite expensive. I would like to economize. I live in KY (Kentucky).
I have never had neighbors complain about the cats as they stay on my place. I use heat lamps in the during barn winter and fans in summer and feed the morning and afternoon. The ones that have become tame follow me up an easement that is shared with the next door farm property and into a wooded area near my new barn (2008).
The son of this farm owner is building a house back in the wooded area behind my property. He asked me to allow him to hook onto water lines on my property and run the line up a hillside that water runs down with a vengeance. I stated that the trench from the digging would settle and erode resulting in running water over drive and under my house. He did not want to take the responsibility for the line and water damage if it occurred but did not want to pay the man to dig an alternative route which would not cost him if he did it himself (he doesn’t want to do self). Due to my refusal to accept the prospect of water inundating my property from the trench, he has retaliated with spite on the cats.
They don’t like animals at all. They have a history of killing anything: dogs etc. and cats that come onto their property. I fear for my cats due to this retaliation.
There are other issues that I could come back on him with but have not said at this point, like he had no problem pushing trees debris from his excavation of the area for his house into the floodway that the river water goes in when river gets out of banks, or the trash in his gully washing down on me, or paying for his part of the fence line….
These cats have never bothered anyone due to fact that the neighbors don’t feed them as they know they are well taken care of. I fear for the safety of these animals. If they are left alone they will not go onto on their land. However, I do not know what this man will do next as he knows this is the way to get even with me for denying him the right to damage my property since he does not and will not take responsibility of upkeep and as can see doing things for himself instead of having mother pay for the work to be done.
I thought of putting collars on the cats but there are lots of woods in the area and I am afraid they will get hung up on them as they are cats. They do keep mice and snake at bay from my farm as do the coons, etc.
If anyone has any suggestions as to inoculating the cats myself instead of paying a vet, please advise as I want to be within all legal guidelines of doing this. Killing them is not an option. I just never considered inoculating them myself until now. Isolating and confining the animals into a small area is not a solution. They have never wandered away that far but have stayed on my property with the exception of being near my barn.
