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Feral Cats, Sanctuary Life & The Reality of Rescue
Episode 715th June 2026 • Animal Posse • Unwanted Feline Organization
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Dixie:

Today we're joined by Vicky Davison from Kindred Tails Sanctuary,

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a passionate advocate for animals and

the heart behind a rescue dedicated

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to giving animals a safe place to

land, heal, and find loving homes.

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We'll be talking rescue, compassion,

and the incredible stories that come

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with saving lives one animal at a time.

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Hi, Vicky.

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Welcome to the show.

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Vicki: Thank you so much.

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Dixie: I am interested in hearing

all about your sanctuary and rescue.

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So before we get started, why don't you

just tell me a little bit about yourself?

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Vicki: About me is I obviously love

animals, and I've always wanted a

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lot of animals when I was growing up.

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I actually wanted to be a veterinarian,

but instead I went to nursing school.

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So back when I wanted to

go to veterinarian school,

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It's not like being a veterinarian

today, as far as dogs that bite or,

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and not being able to be controlled

away from their human parents.

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So I chose to go toward the human side.

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But as soon as we found our place that we

have now, I knew exactly what was gonna

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happen and it started with two feral cats.

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That's all it took, was two

feral cats looking hungry.

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Dixie: Tell me about the place that you

have and I guess when you got your place,

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was this the intention for it or did you

just happen to go in another direction?

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Vicki: When…

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It kinda happened to go in that direction

because like I said, it started with

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two feral cats that we were feeding

and and then it's like they went and

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passed out a memo, to neighboring feral

cats, and before we knew it, there

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was a lot of them on the property.

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And we took them in to get them spayed

and neutered, and some of them were

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very friendly and I'm like, "It's, it's

too bad we couldn't find them a home."

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So then I just, I started looking

into what it would take to become a

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501[c][3] nonprofit and also getting

my license through the Department of

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Agriculture for a shelter license.

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What is your property like?

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Do you have like acreage?

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Is it in the country?

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It is in the country.

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We have five acres.

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Currently on our property

roaming the property, which

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is our sanctuary, is 40 cats.

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And then .. someone

surrendered three goats to us.

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Two of them were pregnant.

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Now we have nine goats.

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We have chickens, we have livestock

guardian dogs, and then of course we

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have eight rescue dogs on the property.

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Dixie: That's awesome.

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I did a similar thing.

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I would like to ask you too

about your setup for your cats,

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because we have country property.

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We purchased the property.

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It's a lot of acreage.

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And I always wanted to have

an animal sanctuary too.

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We found this piece of property.

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It was perfect.

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It's in the country.

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It's in a very rural

area here in Louisiana.

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And we've got a lot of work to

do still to put it all together,

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but . it's in the works.

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It's in the beginning stages,

but we're working towards that.

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What is the setup do you, that you

use for the cats roaming your property

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to keep them safe from predators

like coyotes and stuff like that?

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Vicki: With feral cats,

you can't really…

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unless you fence in, which

a cat can climb a fence.

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We tried putting them in a

catio, and they did not like it.

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So the one thing about feral cats, they

usually have colonies, and it's better

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to just leave them alone, let them go

about their business on the property.

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We do put out places for them to sleep.

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So if you're gonna do that, I would

put them kinda high up, and that

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helps keep them off the ground and

not so accessible to a predator.

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But most of our feral cats

will lay on our porch.

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We have some that are just letting

us start touching them, 'cause

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it's "Look, you either let me

touch you or you don't get fed."

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But I love it just to see

the cats walking around.

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We've not had a problem in four years

with any of our feral cats disappearing

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Dixie: That's great.

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Yeah, and it's funny, like you said,

how you had the two feral cats show

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up, and it just started it for you

because the first time that we went

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out to our property after we got it, I

went and got some game cameras 'cause

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I'm from the city I'm hoping to catch

some deer and raccoons and possums

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and all kinds of wildlife on camera.

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And, the first creature that

I caught on camera was a cat.

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Vicki: Aw.

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Dixie: And I'm like, "Go figure," we're

out in the middle of nowhere 'cause I

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think the closest neighbor is about a

half a mile away, and I'm like, "Here's

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a cat showing up on our property," right?

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Vicki: Yeah.

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There's a sign.

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What's really cool, too, is some

nights when we put out the cat food

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for the feral cats if it's kinda

getting dark, we can look out our

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window, and there will be a possum

sitting right next to the cat eating

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Dixie: Yeah, they seem to all

get along with each other.

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I know that'll happen even out

in the city, 'cause we do get

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a lot of possums in the city.

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And, people say that the cats are

such predators, but you'll see them

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sitting next to possums eating.

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Sometimes you'll even see them

with a raccoon eating, and they all

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seem to get along with each other

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Vicki: Yeah, I think they have an

understanding between each other,

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and now I do know that a possum and

a raccoon will go after a kitten, but

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they won't bother a full-grown cat.

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But yeah, it's nice to watch, and then

we have, I think it's a 10 by 20 building

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that we enclosed and put a pet door, and

it goes out into a catio, and that's what

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we've done with some of the tamer cats so

that we can keep them safe and healthy.

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Because with the feral cats, we were

able to set the live traps to catch

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them, but you can't approach them

to do flea treatments or anything,

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so that makes it harder on them, and

that's the only thing I wish I could

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figure out a system on how to do

that, because fleas are bad this year.

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Really bad.

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Dixie: When the feral cats showed up

and you trapped them for the TNR has

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your colony stabilized after that?

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Or do you grow your colony by

helping people that need to find

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a home for their feral cats?

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Or do you have any more

feral cats showing up?

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Vicki: We do have some that show up

but they don't stay on the property.

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It's just like they're passing

by and grabbing a bite to eat.

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And some people, when they surrender

their cats to us, after we evaluate

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the cat and see, how the cat is or

whatever, it may not be 100% feral,

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but that feral instinct is still in the

cat, so they go out in the building.

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And we can work with them better and

get them used to being around humans

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and, it seems to work that way.

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But that's-- When I take a surrendered

cat, if , an adoptable one, I'm very

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picky about where they go, and my

thought process, if they don't get

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adopted, they can stay on the sanctuary.

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I don't care, i'd like to find them

a home, of course, to where they can

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have their own home and humans to

bond with, but and we've got so many

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cats that are just so lovable and

I'm like, "Why are y'all still here?"

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Dixie: Yeah.

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It's crazy that people

overlook a nice adult cat.

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Everybody goes after the kittens

and I do kitten rescue, I do bottle

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babies, and kittens are cute.

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I'll admit kittens are cute, but

kittens are so messy, and it's like-

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Yeah … and I tell people this all

the time, you never know what that

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kitten is gonna grow up to be like.

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It doesn't matter like how you raise them.

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They could be the sweetest kitten and then

they grow up to be a very aloof adult.

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Or it might be a kitten that has

nothing to do with you and then when

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they reach six months old, all they

wanna do is sit in your lap now.

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And I always tell people when you--

if you know what you want in a pet

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or in a cat, pick an adult because

you know what their personality is.

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There's so many of them that are so great.

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They're so easy to integrate into

your house, provided of course

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that you do it the right way.

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You don't wanna just throw them

in the middle of your house and

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say, "Here's your new home."

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But if you integrate them in and acclimate

them to it, they just settle in nicely

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and you have a really wonderful pet.

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They do.

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Vicki: And I do the neonatal kittens.

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I think we've got like two of

our incubators full right now.

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And it's just people bring in kittens.

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They're telling me they found them on

the side of the road and I said you

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have to go through animal control.

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We can't take in strays."

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And then they finally tell the truth.

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My cat had kittens and I

can't deal with kittens."

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I'm like technically your mama cat

would be dealing with the kitten and

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that's the best place for your kitten

to be is with mama," but then when we

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go to look at the kitten, they're just

covered in fleas and it's like, how

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long has this kitten been like this?

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And they're like, "Oh, about a week."

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I'm like, "It can take 10 fleas

to take out a kitten this young,

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from anemia and they would crash."

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And that's the side that people don't

realize as a rescuer that, that when

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we take in these bottle babies, yes,

they are cute, yes, it's fun feeding

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them, but that doesn't mean that

they're gonna be tame their whole life.

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It doesn't mean they're instantly

gonna bond to any human either.

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And that's what a lot of people don't

understand is and you said it it's get

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the adult cat because they've already went

through all of the other stuff and the

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way they are now is pretty much the way

they're gonna be the rest of their life.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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And I, I just wish people would

consider that, but it's hard to

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really reach people about that.

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And it's funny because people, when they

go looking for a dog, they will gravitate

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towards a dog, not necessarily a puppy.

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But when it comes to a cat, it

seems, the majority of people

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just wanna have a kitten.

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Vicki: Yeah.

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I can see both sides of it, but then,

with being in rescue, nine times out of

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10, in about six to seven months, they're

gonna wanna bring that kitten back,

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because they didn't really listen to you.

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There, there is the newborn, there is the

toddler, there is the teenager, and then

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there's the adult, as far as in cats.

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And the toddler and the teenage

phase that cats go through, that's

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when they usually bring them back.

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It's "I didn't realize they were

gonna be climbing my curtains."

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They'll climb a lot of stuff.

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So I still have my very first

bottle baby Stormy, and I will

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never put Stormy up for adoption.

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Because I know how Stormy is.

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Stormy was the cute, cuddly

kitten that all he wanted to do

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was lay on me drink a bottle.

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He didn't like to see

other kittens drinking.

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And when I go in there into the

kitten room, and he's in there,

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he'll come up, and if I'm looking

at something else, he'll take his

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paw and push my face to look at him.

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And I'm like, "Stingy much?"

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But other people that come in

there, he is very skittish.

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Even though he's been around

humans his whole entire life,

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but he's still skittish.

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And that just goes back to what you said.

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It, they can change.

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Their, not only can their personalities

change, but their hair length, the

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hair color, and most people, when

they see kittens, they have blue eyes.

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Guess what?

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Their eyes aren't gonna stay blue.

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Dixie: Yeah, that's my

favorite, the blue eyes.

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And I'm like, "Oh, those

eyes aren't gonna stay blue."

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"Oh, no, they're gonna stay blue."

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And it's "Yeah, you can tell me that

in a few more weeks, and we'll see

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what color their eyes are then."

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Vicki: Yeah, they don't stay blue at all.

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Dixie: Now, surprisingly- I just

got some orange kittens in, and-

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Oh, wow … I have been waiting

and waiting for the eyes to change.

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They're eight weeks old now.

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So one of them, her eyes are green,

so she's orange, green eyes, and

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then I have a buff, blue eyes,

and I have a orange and blue eyes.

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So that's their natural color and which

is very odd 'cause I've never seen an

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orange cat with the blue eyes like that.

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Vicki: That kind of tells me there

might be some Siamese in that cat.

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Dixie: Yeah, I was thinking

the same thing, especially the

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little buff one 'cause he just

has that little Siamese attitude.

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Vicki: Yeah.

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No, we have a solid black cat.

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We call her Sabrina, and she has the

prettiest, almost neon green eyes on a

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cat, but I've never seen that color on

a cat before, and it's just her eyes.

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And she's a good cat.

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There's this huge thing going

around about shelters and humane

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societies wanting to be a no-kill.

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And which is fine, but before

you can get to a no-kill, we

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need to start with no birth.

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Because these people, they're not

having their animals spayed and

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neutered, and they come to the rescues.

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People are smart.

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They know not to take them to animal

control or humane society because they

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will more than likely just euthanize them.

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So they bring them to rescues,

and we're overcrowded.

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We're not funded by anybody.

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Like animal s- animal control and humane

society, we're not funded by anybody.

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And I don't know about you, but a

lot of our, the rescues that I'm in

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touch with, a lot of this money is

coming out of our personal pocket.

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Dixie: Yeah, absolutely.

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Absolutely.

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And I've been seeing this, the trend

too, like you said, with the people that

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, they'll get the kittens, and then they

wait until they're reproductive age and

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causing a whole bunch of problems because

they're not spayed or neutered, and that's

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when they wanna find a home for them.

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And- … and right now, I

have room at my rescue at our

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adoption center for some adults.

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And so I had somebody contact me

today 'cause they have two of them,

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but they're not spayed or neutered.

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And I'm like, by the time I can get

them spayed or neutered and have

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them, healed enough in time to be at

the adoption center, all my kittens

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that I have are gonna be ready."

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I have room now, but I don't

have room next week, and I'm

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sure you understand that.

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Vicki: Oh, yeah.

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Yeah, we are currently closed for intake

because, like I said, we've got two

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incubators we've got the kitten room, and

and my adult room is full I I even have

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some kennels set up in my living room.

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Me and my husband at this point, we

just pay the bills and sleep here.

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We no longer occupy the

house, the animals do.

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It's just, he knows

how I am about animals.

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He travels for a living, so he's

come home to chickens in the house.

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They wear diapers.

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But because they aren't mixing in with

the flocks that we have, and most chickens

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don't like white chickens that are of

different colors, and Autumn happens

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to be white, so she gets bullied a lot.

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I've got a piglet that walks around

in the house with a diaper on

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until he gets ready to go outside.

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My concern is he doesn't know he's a

piglet anymore because he's hanging out

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with four, or with two of our kittens.

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And they're fine.

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It's really sad because, what's

going on right now, we cannot rescue

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our way out of overpopulation.

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We can't.

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And at some point, commissioners,

governors, and they're gonna

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have to understand that.

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Department of Agriculture in Georgia

will not let you get one of their spay

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and neuter grants until you've held a

license for one year you're putting a

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whole year gap, to where I'm getting

all these animals in and I'm sitting

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on $3,500 worth of vet bills right now.

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And it's like they don't

consider these cats feral.

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They consider them abandoned, and

I'm like, "They're not abandoned.

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They're feral cats."

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So it's hard.

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It's just hard all the way around.

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But, I'm not gonna give up

on them, that's for sure.

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Dixie: Yeah, it is.

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It definitely is.

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Now, in your area, what do you think is

the reason for the lack of spay/neuter?

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What do you think is causing people to

not go out and get spay and neuter done?

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Vicki: We do not have a local vet.

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They either have to drive 45 minutes

to an hour to have to have the cats

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spayed or neutered, and the cost of it.

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Because we have one place in

Statesboro that already does it at

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a really good price for feral cats

that have to be brought in traps.

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I think you can get like the

full package deal where they get

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spayed/neutered, they get their rabies,

and they get the feline for the upper

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respiratory and AIDS for 85 bucks.

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And some of the people in this area don't

have the 85 bucks, much less don't want

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to make that drive there, 'cause you

have to drop them off and then go back

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later about 3:30, 4:00 to pick them up.

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So that's one of the biggest problems

here is just not having a local vet

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and the community not having the money.

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Now they're quick to build the population,

and I've always said there's more cats

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in Screven County than there are humans.

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I've never been in a county

where there's many stray cats.

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But again, we can't rescue

our way out of overpopulation.

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Something's gonna have to be done.

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Dixie: Yeah, and in my area, we have

some really good low-cost programs.

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Very low cost.

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And we still can't get

people on board here.

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We don't have counties here in

Louisiana, we have parishes.

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The parish that I'm in Jefferson

Parish, it's actually free to

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go get a feral cat fixed Wow.

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Yeah.

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And then when you talk about Orleans,

where New Orleans is and Jefferson Parish,

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we have both really low cost to go get

a spay/neuter done for an owned cat.

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And we still have a difficult time

getting people on board with it.

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And I don't know what the issue is there.

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I know, I always get the word out.

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Whenever I talk to somebody, whether

I'm at an adoption event or a market

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and they bring up their animals,

the first question I always ask is,

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"Okay, are they spayed and neutered,

and what city do you live in?

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Because if they're not, I'm gonna tell

you where you have to go to get it done."

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And it's sad because some

people are receptive to it

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and just other people are not.

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So we have the access to it here, but it's

like you still can't get people on board.

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So , it's a struggle.

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Vicki: It is a struggle.

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And even if it's the only animal in

your home and they don't go outside,

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there's health issues that come with

a cat or a female dog going through

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a heat cycle and nothing happening.

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And they don't go through menopause.

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Like they will have babies

up until the day they die.

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When we done an event, we

took, plastic kitten figurines.

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We got like 200 of them off of Temu.

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And every time somebody walked up, we

would give them a kitten, and we would

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explain to them about spay and neuter and

why it was so important and what one cat

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could do the the first year of their life.

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Because they can get pregnant

as early as four months.

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And they don't know what to do at four

months if they're gonna get pregnant.

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It's like I wouldn't know what to do.

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So we gave out all but

25 of our cat figurines.

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That's how many people

we were able to talk to.

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Now, did it go in one

ear and out the other?

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Probably.

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I don't know why people are so against

spaying and neuter-neutering their

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animal, but there is absolutely no

medical reason why they need to stay

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intact and have reproductive organs

if they're just your house cat.

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There's just no sense in it.

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One person was gonna go have their

cat neutered and they said , 'cause

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I'm tired of it spraying."

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Neutering is not gonna keep

your cat from spraying.

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They also spray from stress.

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So you know, you're not gonna stop that.

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So I don't know.

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What I'm trying to put together is kinda

I don't know how about when you grew

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up, there used to be a bus that come

around to try and encourage kids to ride

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the bus to church, and so I'm trying to

come up with a way that we can do that.

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I've got someone working on a grant

for me to get a transport vehicle.

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And if they want their cat spayed

or neutered, we will come pick

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the cat up, we will take the cat,

and we will bring the cat back.

363

:

So that eliminates that part of

it, the transportation part of it.

364

:

And we've got a connection with

a vet in North Carolina that if I

365

:

bring in 30 cats, they would get

all of their necessary vaccines,

366

:

rabies, plus be spayed or neutered.

367

:

And 30 cats are…

368

:

It's only gonna cost me $2,500 for

30 cats, and that's pretty good.

369

:

So that's what I'm working on, 'cause

I'm thinking 30 cats to begin with.

370

:

If it goes good, then

I do another 30 cats.

371

:

Because between March and

October is kitten season

372

:

Dixie: Yeah, that would

definitely help put a dent in it.

373

:

30 cats, that's a good bit.

374

:

Vicki: Yeah, that is a good bit.

375

:

And a lot of people, they're,

hear lately their excuse is

376

:

the cat's already pregnant."

377

:

It still needs to go get spayed.

378

:

Yes.

379

:

Why, the people are so against that.

380

:

They think it's so cruel to spay,

abort, and I'm like, "But why?

381

:

What are you gonna do with the six,

eight kittens that cat might have?"

382

:

What are you gonna do with them?

383

:

They're gonna end up in rescue.

384

:

They're gonna end up outside

and turn into a feral cat.

385

:

So now is the time to

have your cat spayed.

386

:

Dixie: Yeah and another thing with that

is the people that do that and they don't

387

:

wanna have these litters of kittens,

they have these litters of kittens, and

388

:

they wanna get rid of them right away.

389

:

So they'll look for a rescue to

take them, but, rescues are swamped.

390

:

We're all full.

391

:

Once kitten- … season starts running

in, coming in, y- you don't have room.

392

:

You have to go find a foster.

393

:

And finding a foster takes a while.

394

:

You don't just find a

foster in a few hours.

395

:

Sometimes it takes a few

weeks to find a foster.

396

:

So you try to help people out.

397

:

You try to tell them look,

you take care of them.

398

:

When the kittens are big enough, then

we can go ahead and try to get the

399

:

kittens spayed and neutered, and then

try to help you place them, but at

400

:

least they'll be spayed or neutered."

401

:

But they don't wanna even

wait, and it's like you're

402

:

irresponsible with your animals.

403

:

You let your animals reproduce.

404

:

Your animals get pregnant.

405

:

They have kittens.

406

:

Now you wanna give them away,

and you don't wanna wait.

407

:

So what they'll do is they'll just go

find random people to give them to.

408

:

And- … you're lucky if the kittens

don't end up in a bad situation,

409

:

'cause there's plenty of bad

situations that they can end up in.

410

:

But- Yeah … if they do go to a home

with somebody that actually wants a

411

:

kitten and is gonna take care of them,

it's the same situation and the same

412

:

cycle over because if they don't get

that kitten fixed by the time it's four

413

:

months old, it's reproducing again.

414

:

And so then it just never ends.

415

:

And I just really wish that people

would be, receptive to that because

416

:

it's like that's the offer I always try

to make them when I don't have room.

417

:

Just hold onto them until

they're eight to 10 weeks old.

418

:

When they're two pounds, we'll go ahead

and we'll get them spayed or neutered.

419

:

But it's like they want the problem gone

right away, and they just don't care.

420

:

Vicki: And I always try and convince

somebody too, can you foster in place?

421

:

All the medical will be taken care of.

422

:

We will send you food.

423

:

You have to pull nothing

out of your pocket.

424

:

You just provide the place for,

the kitten and just foster in

425

:

place until we can get room.

426

:

They don't wanna do that either

427

:

Because in this area I cannot find

any fosters or volunteers, period.

428

:

I don't know why.

429

:

I have a puppy that has Jack Russell

in it that desperately needs a foster

430

:

because it needs to have more one-on-one

time to teach, the puppy manners and

431

:

not to do this and not to do that.

432

:

And I don't have that time because

there's so many other animals.

433

:

It takes us about three and a half

hours to do our morning routine

434

:

And it's, that's going through and

cleaning kennels, cleaning litter boxes,

435

:

shoving everybody out into their run so

we can clean the floors and the walls

436

:

to help prevent any kind of disease or

infection spread, and picking up the

437

:

bowls and cleaning them, cleaning water

containers, refilling them, walking the

438

:

dogs to get them out to stretch their

legs a little bit and playing with them.

439

:

And then when you get done,

you get two or three hours and

440

:

it's time to start over again.

441

:

That's the side people don't see.

442

:

They just think we're just

sitting here collecting animals

443

:

and think we make a profit.

444

:

I know my rescue personally

does not make a profit at all.

445

:

I lose money.

446

:

I definitely lose money

with my adoption fees.

447

:

Dixie: Yeah.

448

:

When they see an adoption fee, they

see the adoption fee as the spay,

449

:

neuter, and the vaccines, and that's it.

450

:

They don't see the back end of

that adoption fee, which would be

451

:

all the food and litter that you

have to use to get them ready.

452

:

All the medical, because babies get sick.

453

:

You can't help it.

454

:

It's sometimes it's like nursery school.

455

:

They're gonna get sick.

456

:

They're gonna get upper

respiratory infections, and

457

:

they're gonna- … need meds.

458

:

They're gonna need fluids sometimes.

459

:

They need to go to the vet.

460

:

And people don't see that side of it,

and instead they think that you're

461

:

you're making money off of an adoption.

462

:

Vicki: No.

463

:

No way.

464

:

You're losing money because I, we go

through 600 pounds of cat litter a month

465

:

So I do have a company that I partnered

with that will send me 50 pounds of cat

466

:

litter for free, and then the concept

is if, when someone adopts a cat, I

467

:

give them the link and they go sign up.

468

:

They get a free 20 pound bag of

that litter if they like it, which,

469

:

all of the cats use the litter.

470

:

It's all natural.

471

:

And they can sign up to get litter

delivered to their house and from

472

:

each person who purchases basically

a subscription, our rescue gets $20.

473

:

But it's just, we decided to go all

natural because we have so many kittens.

474

:

You're not, with as many cats as

we have inside of our house, you're

475

:

not gonna get rid of that smell.

476

:

I don't care what kind of litter,

I don't care what it promises.

477

:

No, it's not gonna happen

478

:

Dixie: How do you handle your adoptions?

479

:

What venues do you use

to get them adopted?

480

:

Vicki: I use Petfinder.

481

:

I think I'm on

482

:

Oh, I can't remember the name of it.

483

:

I think rescue.org,

484

:

and then just advertising

them on the Facebook page

485

:

and hoping people will share.

486

:

I…

487

:

But I have OJ.

488

:

He's completely ready, to go.

489

:

He's been completely ready to go.

490

:

And he's one of the ones that

him and his brother PJ is like,

491

:

"Why are y'all still here?

492

:

Y'all are real cute.

493

:

You're real loving.

494

:

You don't mess up anything.

495

:

They're not messy with

their litter box at all.

496

:

You're a dream cat."

497

:

And they're still here.

498

:

So we're gonna start doing adoption events

I think next month and just taking the

499

:

cats and some of the dogs and letting

people interact with them and stuff.

500

:

And if they want to adopt, they have to

go fill out the adoption application.

501

:

They have to sign the adoption contract,

which in our contract states they

502

:

cannot surrender the dog or cat to

animal control or humane society.

503

:

They have to bring the animal back to us.

504

:

They cannot rehome the cat or dog.

505

:

They have to bring it back to us, and they

can't have the animal euthanized unless

506

:

it is medically necessary deemed by a

veterinarian, and we have to see that.

507

:

And if they break any of those rules,

. they can be fined up to $15,000 Because I

508

:

don't want you adopting an animal from me

just to later re-home it because it was

509

:

doing something you didn't agree with.

510

:

Bring it back, tell us what's wrong,

let us work it out, so that we can

511

:

be transparent for the next person.

512

:

But I had just found out by luck that

one of the people who adopted one of

513

:

my Siamese re-homed it for 25 bucks.

514

:

Dixie: Oh, wow.

515

:

Vicki: And yeah, the lady reached

out to me, and I was gonna be

516

:

ugly and mean, but after doing

her reference checks and her…

517

:

I was like, "Okay, this cat

is gonna be in a good home."

518

:

I let it go.

519

:

I-- And I know the person that

that adopted from me, she wouldn't

520

:

have been able to pay a fine.

521

:

I just mainly put that in there,

because I hope people realize that it's

522

:

okay if you have to bring them back.

523

:

Just tell us why.

524

:

You don't be scared to.

525

:

I would much rather them come back to

me than end up in an animal shelter

526

:

or humane society, or in the wrong

hands of somebody- Yeah … that

527

:

does awful things to kittens.

528

:

Dixie: Yeah.

529

:

All of the rescues that are in our area,

they all have that in their contract,

530

:

that if you can't keep the animal for

any reason, they ask you bring it back.

531

:

And I run a couple of lost pets

and rehoming sites on social media.

532

:

Sure.

533

:

And I see people all the time, they're

giving away cats and adult cats.

534

:

It just seems it seems like everybody

is giving away adult cats right now.

535

:

And so I'll always ask them,

where did the cat come from?"

536

:

And sometimes they'll say, "Oh, I

got it from such and such a place."

537

:

And I'm like, "Okay, then if you got

it over here, that's this rescue.

538

:

You need to call them up.

539

:

They're gonna take their cats back."

540

:

And, sometimes they

won't even contact them.

541

:

So if it's somebody that I notice or

somebody I have contacts with, I'll alert

542

:

them to the post so they can get involved.

543

:

But "You're desperately looking

for somebody to take your cat.

544

:

The rescue's gonna take your

cat back, but you don't wanna

545

:

call the rescue and tell them?"

546

:

Vicki: Yeah, that's what gets me.

547

:

That's what gets me is why do you

wanna get rid of it and giving it away

548

:

for free when you know the rescue…

549

:

And most rescues will come pick 'em back

up, if they're within a certain distance.

550

:

Don't, you don't even

have to bring it to us.

551

:

We'll come get it.

552

:

I just, I really, I don't

understand people with animals.

553

:

I really don't.

554

:

A lot of this is common sense.

555

:

I don't understand people.

556

:

We have a Yorkie.

557

:

He's intact, and the only

reason he's intact is 'cause he

558

:

cannot be anesthetized at all.

559

:

He was sedated to be groomed, and he had

such a bad reaction to that, the vet was

560

:

like, "He can never be anesthetized."

561

:

And he's 10 years old now

I don't have any females.

562

:

But these people giving away adult

cats right now, if it's a female, it's

563

:

because she's walking around doing

her mating call or spraying to try

564

:

and get the attention of a male cat.

565

:

Or if it's a male cat that they have

and not neutered, they don't realize

566

:

even though that cat's inside your

house, it can still smell a cat in heat.

567

:

And so now he's going around

marking because he's trying

568

:

to get to the cat in heat.

569

:

Dixie: Yeah, I just saw a video

a few minutes before the call,

570

:

and it was this girl, and she

said her cat had gotten outside.

571

:

So she brought the cat back in the house,

572

:

he's standing at the

window, and he's howling.

573

:

And so she's looking for

veterinary help online.

574

:

"Why is my cat making this noise?

575

:

I took him to the vet.

576

:

The vet said he's fine, but I need some

help because my cat is at the door,

577

:

at the window making all this noise.

578

:

He's walking around the house doing this."

579

:

So I knew what it was right away.

580

:

I'm like, "Oh, he's not neutered."

581

:

It turns out, of course,

that's what it was.

582

:

He was not neutered.

583

:

Vicki: And that's why a lot of

people go and have kittens fixed

584

:

when they are of the right weight.

585

:

Because if you don't let them experience

that manhood or the womanhood then

586

:

they won't react when they get older

to, especially the male cats, will

587

:

not react to a female being in heat

'cause they won't know what that

588

:

is, 'cause they've never they've

never had hormones go through them.

589

:

And so a lot of people don't realize

that either, and it's like just they

590

:

think that two pounds is too small.

591

:

Okay.

592

:

Wait till your two-pound kitten that

you decided not to have fixed starts

593

:

giving birth in a couple of months.

594

:

They're too young to have babies, too.

595

:

But I try and get all of these

kittens fixed as soon as the vet

596

:

says, "Okay, they can be fixed."

597

:

And 'cause she's not gonna fix

them if they're on a medication

598

:

for a URI or, anything else.

599

:

She wants to get them better

because she knows kittens

600

:

that young can crash quickly.

601

:

Blood sugars can drop, blood

pressure can drop, while they're

602

:

anesthetized to be fixed.

603

:

So she wants them healthy before

she does it, which is fine with

604

:

me, as long as it gets done

605

:

It's just, to me it's just putting

them in, like we have the man

606

:

cave and we have the woman cave.

607

:

So we keep them separated, the

ones that aren't fixed, and we

608

:

slowly get them in to get fixed

609

:

But yeah people don't even know these,

how female cats, it's not like dogs where

610

:

they go in heat every three to six months.

611

:

There is actually a kitten season

that run from March to October.

612

:

In that one season, that mama

can have a at least, at tops,

613

:

probably three litters, if not more

614

:

Dixie: Yeah, it's an astronomical

number when you look at it.

615

:

Oh, yeah … by the time those

kittens are four months old.

616

:

So it's like the mom cat will give

birth to the kittens, have kittens.

617

:

Those kittens are weaned, the mom

cat gets pregnant, and by the time

618

:

the mom cat has that litter of

kittens, the first batch of kittens

619

:

is probably having its own kittens.

620

:

Vicki: Yep, and that's

621

:

The cycle's easy to be broke.

622

:

You just have to go and spay and neuter

623

:

and I don't know why that's so scary or

hard for people to un- to understand,

624

:

but I get the ones that don't have

transportation or the finances, but,

625

:

for all the other people who are

living in extremely nice homes and

626

:

driving nice cars and have their nails

done every week, what's your excuse?

627

:

Dixie: Yeah, that's a good question.

628

:

Vicki: Go one week without

having your nails done.

629

:

That'll cover a spay.

630

:

Dixie: Do you find that you do

more sanctuary than compared

631

:

to your actual adoptions?

632

:

Vicki: Yes.

633

:

Yes, I do.

634

:

Also mainly, any animal I also take

in or is taken in under the sanctuary.

635

:

You don't have to have a shelter

license to run a sanctuary.

636

:

So not knowing the situation of the animal

coming in, I bring them in under the

637

:

sanctuary to where they can go through

all the medical checks, get vaccines

638

:

and whatever, and then I start…

639

:

I put them on the rescue side of it,

where I start posting their pictures

640

:

on our website and advertising them.

641

:

But like we got two German shepherds

from a court case where it was a police

642

:

officer who actually was train- had a K9

business and was training these dogs, and

643

:

it's like how do you spend so much time

training these dogs who know good commands

644

:

and then turn around and starve them?

645

:

Because when they come to

us, they were 30 pounds.

646

:

Dixie: Oh, wow.

647

:

Vicki: And we've got them at their

ideal weight of 72 pounds now.

648

:

But I can tell you right now, these

two German shepherds, I'm not gonna

649

:

feel comfortable adopting them

out because Faith will not make

650

:

eye contact with you at all, so

you know, I'm worried about her.

651

:

And Florence just, she's got

a lot of built-up energy.

652

:

Somebody would have to really convince

me that they are very experienced

653

:

in the GSD, and they understand

their activity level and that they

654

:

need a job and how to handle them.

655

:

They would not be able to go into

a home that had cats or other dogs.

656

:

If you have small children, these

dogs are gonna have to be kenneled,

657

:

and you're going to have to teach

your child not to stick their finger

658

:

in it, and that's not fair to them.

659

:

So with all the stipulations that

I have on these two shepherds,

660

:

they're not gonna get adopted.

661

:

Dixie: Now, with you being with you

being primarily a sanctuary, do you think

662

:

that limits your opportunity at grants?

663

:

Vicki: No, because I apply

for grants under the rescue.

664

:

It's just we've only had our shelter

license come this October for a year,

665

:

and I have found it's very hard when

you don't have a revenue to show some

666

:

of these places that are doing the

grants and you don't have that intake

667

:

to adoption ratio to show them because

you're just beginning and you've

668

:

only had your shelter license a year.

669

:

That's what makes it hard to get a grant.

670

:

Dixie: Yeah, that's actually what I

meant, was the actual adoption numbers.

671

:

'Cause I've heard this from another lady

that does primarily just all sanctuary,

672

:

and she does a lot of adult cats and adult

dogs and more special needs type cases,

673

:

so ones that are difficult to adopt.

674

:

Vicki: Yep.

675

:

Dixie: And so she does have a

hard time sometimes getting grants

676

:

because she doesn't have those

numbers showing all these adoptions.

677

:

And I know that a lot of the times that

is a requirement, is that you have to show

678

:

that you have so many adoptions before

you're even eligible to get a grant.

679

:

Vicki: Oh, yeah.

680

:

And that's what makes it hard on the

small rescues, and then there's also

681

:

that gatekeeping from, rescues that

have been open for a while, and they

682

:

have contacts and, but they gatekeep it.

683

:

It's a competitive thing

in this area with rescues.

684

:

And it's like we should all have the

same goal at the end of the day, which

685

:

is to either provide a, a happy, safe,

lovable place for this animal to live

686

:

or be able to adopt them out to a

happy, safe, lovable place to live.

687

:

There should be no

competitive or whatever.

688

:

And I share other rescues because

if I see them sharing a dog three or

689

:

four times, I'm gonna start sharing it

because maybe my reach and my area is

690

:

looking for that type of dog, and it's

just wherever that rescue's at, maybe

691

:

that's not the type of dog people like.

692

:

'Cause there is that the designer

dogs, of course, get adopted really

693

:

quick, the little small designer dogs.

694

:

And of course your nanny

dogs, which is what I refer to

695

:

them, but they're pit bulls.

696

:

Anything mixed with a pit

bull is not gonna get adopted.

697

:

That's just, plain and simple, and

I don't know why other than the

698

:

horror stories of what's been put

on the news of what pit bull's done.

699

:

But it's why can't we talk to the owner

and find out how did you raise this dog?

700

:

What was the purpose of this

dog when you got it and then

701

:

turned around and had a child?

702

:

'Cause if you were raising that dog

to be, aggressive and to guard your

703

:

house, then you should have never

let your child around that dog.

704

:

That's just common sense.

705

:

We had shepherds growing up, and

my dad would keep, Smokey put

706

:

up, and he only come out of his

kennel at night because he…

707

:

That's what he done.

708

:

He'd guard the house, but we were

never around him when he was out

709

:

because he was an aggressive dog.

710

:

So it's just common sense.

711

:

It does not exist anymore.

712

:

I've never attempted to get a grant

for the sanctuary, but I know you could

713

:

probably Google grants for sanctuaries.

714

:

Because again, that's

where common sense come in.

715

:

The people doing the grants, if

they advertise rescue shelters and

716

:

sanctuaries, then they should know if

you call in, you're a sanctuary, you're

717

:

not gonna have those adoption numbers.

718

:

Because you're a sanctuary, which

means that animal's gonna live their

719

:

life out there, not get adopted.

720

:

So I don't know.

721

:

I have the mayor of our town helping

me with a couple of grants right now,

722

:

'cause she's good at grant writing.

723

:

Oh, that's wonderful.

724

:

We're gonna try and get

a transportation van.

725

:

I really wanna help the community by being

the bus, trying to take some excuses away.

726

:

If I can remove your excuses,

then will you allow me to do this?

727

:

And that's what I'm going for.

728

:

'Cause like I said, this is, it's

just my favorite tagline now is we…

729

:

You can't rescue your way

out of overpopulation.

730

:

You just can't

731

:

And the hardest part is saying no

732

:

Dixie: It is.

733

:

It is, especially when you see

so many of them that you do wanna

734

:

help 'cause you know that they

might be in a bad situation, but if

735

:

you're full, it is very difficult.

736

:

Vicki: It is.

737

:

It's very difficult.

738

:

Dixie: Before we end the call, can

you tell people how they can find

739

:

out about Kindred Tail Sanctuary?

740

:

Vicki: Yes, we have a Facebook page

which i- would be listed as Kindred

741

:

Tails Sanctuary CO, and then our

website is kindredtailsanctuary.org

742

:

Dixie: Okay, great.

743

:

I'm gonna

744

:

Vicki: include

745

:

Dixie: those in the show notes too,

so people can go to your links.

746

:

Vicki: Okay.

747

:

That would be awesome.

748

:

And if, someone wants to make donations

or sign up to volunteer or foster

749

:

and they're within the area you can

find all of those applications on

750

:

the website and the donation site.

751

:

Volunteering if it's somebody in another

state, we have a couple of openings

752

:

for remote volunteers that we need.

753

:

So we could use some volunteers.

754

:

Dixie: And I know you said

you're in Georgia, but what

755

:

actually what city are you in?

756

:

Vicki: We are in Newington, Georgia.

757

:

So we are about an hour

from Savannah, Georgia.

758

:

Dixie: All right.

759

:

Thank you so much for coming on the show

today to talk about what you do and,

760

:

Yeah … good luck on getting that grant.

761

:

I really hope you get it.

762

:

Vicki: Thank you for having me,

and I enjoyed being on the show,

763

:

and I'll keep you posted about it.

764

:

Dixie: Yeah, please do.

765

:

Please do, 'cause we would love to put an

update in on, on the air or something, or

766

:

just in the show notes if you do get it.

767

:

That would be a great update to add.

768

:

So I would love to find out.

769

:

Vicki: Thank you so much.

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