8 Kittens to Portland

I took 8 kittens up to Portland. Six are from that Albany female fixed Tuesday. Her owner decided to keep two of the kittens, although they wanted me to take the mother and one of their males.

That kind of behavior is exactly why I'm getting out of dodge. Those two they kept will likely never be fixed.

So, instead of taking those 8 up to the lady fostering them for an adoption group, I took the six they'd hand over plus the two black warehouse kittens. I am glad they're with someone who will handle them and possibly they'll get homes. If not, at least they'll be with someone really wonderful until they make weight for spay neuter, then they'll go back to the warehouse.

I posted notice on craigslist that I have quit. That's to try to stop the calls that are coming in nonstop. One came from a woman in a trailer park who is mean to me, abusive over the phone and was so again.

She'd fed a pregnant cat until she had kittens and she wanted a live trap from me, to trap her, then she'd call me. I told this woman who has been so mean to me several times I don't loan out my live traps.

Her friend there, whom I have helped over and over again with cats, is the one who e-mailed awhile back, at the managers' request, wanting to know if I'd accidentally stolen the manager's trap. Which was an outrageous thing to suggest. So by now, this woman claims, who called wanting me to loan her a trap, that I have issues with the manager. I informed her I don't even know their manager.

She demanded I come trap the cat myself, right now. I said I couldn't do that. I was just heading out the door to Portland. She became very very angry and began screaming over the phone she was so angry. I hung up on her. I don't have to take that.

That was only one of three calls today alone.

I am not completely quitting, but for the most part, yes I am. I like trapping so yes, I will trap when I am rested and want to, or for groups, who pay my gas and bait.

The other people will need to get their own cats fixed. Safehaven has the vouchers. People can do it that way, even if, god help me for daring suggest this, they have to sacrifice, like buy one less carton of cigarettes or case of beer one week, to afford the voucher amount.

I got a one line note in response to my quit notice from the mayor. All these years, all those massive numbers of hours, labor, sweat, tears, my own money, that's what its valued--one short line. Seems kind of cold!

Ah well. It is a cold world and a cold-hearted one.

I thought about what I'd say if someone said to me "Well, you failed."

I think I'd say, "Failed at what? Fixing every unfixed cat on the planet? Or did you mean failed at fixing every cat in the United States? Or in Oregon, is that what you mean? Or in Linn County? In Albany?"

I didn't fail. I got thousands upon thousands of cats fixed on an income that most people could only dream of living on. Because they couldn't they live on my teensy allotment. It's just too nothing.