In May, 2006 my mother called me because a beautiful long-
haired grey cat was hiding in the shrubs behind her workplace.
Her co-workers said the cat had been there the day before and
hadn't moved except to eat, very warily, some food they put
out. I approached the cat, was able to pet her, and carefully but
quickly picked her up and put her in a carrier.
I took her to the [shelter] ______________________________
___________ because I had no one to take her. I have 5 cats in
Grey Kitty
Killed May 2006 ___a small one-bedroom apartment and no relatives or friends
___would foster, despite my pleas. I was fairly sure the poor cat
was simply lost and terrified, but there were no "lost cats" signs in the neighborhood or in the
local newspaper. I spoke to the shelter staff, who assured me that the cat would go up for
adoption since she seemed very well-behaved and was very pretty, assuming no one claimed her
as their lost pet. I made it clear that if no one claimed her or wanted to adopt her, I would adopt
her, hoping that by then I would be able to find a foster home. They took my information.
The next day I called and spoke to the shelter manager, named Wendy, who assured me
they would not kill the cat unless she showed "dangerous" behavior or was too ill to treat. I asked
how the cat was doing and she said she was fine. I waited a few days, called again, was told that
no one claimed the cat and she would be put up for adoption.
Then, a few days later, I got a call from the assistant manager saying that they were going
to kill the cat because she had a bad upper respiratory infection and couldn't be helped! I said that
I would come right over and take the cat, but they said they wouldn't let me - that for "the good
of the cat"!! - they couldn't release her to me. They said what if I didn't go to a vet and the cat
suffered? I said, I rescued a healthy cat. She showed absolutely no signs of a cold when I brought
her in. She got sick at the shelter and now you're going to kill her? The assistant manager
repeated that Grey Kitty couldn't be helped. I said, you're not calling me to ask my permission,
right? You're just calling me to let me know. She said yes.
I hung up and called Best Friends Animal Society in Utah and spoke to someone in their
cat department who said, of course, that URIs can be treated - it just takes isolation, time,
medication, etc. I called the assistant manager back and told her that. I could barely find the
words to express how angry I was and how deceived I felt. The shelter manager out and out lied
to me - what is untreatable sickness to them is, on the contrary, very much treatable and I said
that to the assistant manager, adding that I would take every opportunity to tell people not to
believe their no-kill claims.
The [shelter] _______ touts all the animals it helps in its newsletter, but what it doesn't
say is how they select which animals get helped and which get killed. I do now take every
opportunity to tell people about their deception and about poor little Grey Kitty, whom I thought
I was helping. I still cry for her. And since then I've become more educated and never take any
animal to the [shelter] _______ or any other so-called "shelter". I beg, borrow and steal (so to
speak) to find foster homes for them. And I light a candle on the last day of every month in
memory of all the poor animals who have died or been murdered, including Grey Kitty
- R.
Philadelphia, PA