I don't know what's worse, when they take them out to the country or abandon them... :( Years ago I lived in an apartment complex, my tiny back patio was separated from the peoples' behind us by a grapestake fence. One day we heard these people moving out...well and good, they were trashy folks anyhow.

The next morning I hear thin, weak meowing...the kind kittens make...yup, they abandoned their pregnant cat, just left her to kitten in the back patio. No food or water, no shelter. I peeked through the fence because I couldn't believe they'd be so callous as to just LEAVE their pet--but they were moved out and gone, the place was empty. I waited a few hours but they never did come back.

I was able to bust out the bottoms of a couple of the grapestakes and grab the kittens. I started with the kittens because mama was scared of me since she didn't know me. Once I put the babies in a box, mama climbed in, too and I took them all to the animal shelter. At least there they have a chance of getting adopted.

In our neighborhood we get people dumping ducks, of all things--we are a suburban neighborhood with no lakes or anything nearby. My chickens are a real anomaly. I'm waiting for the day when some idiot tosses a chicken over my fence...

People never fail to amaze me with the things they do. :(

Velvet ~:>

I chalk it up to our throw-away society. Use it till you're done with it and then toss it somewhere.

Our last drop-off turned out to be one of the best cats we've ever had though! "Mr. Shrimp" was a throw-away for somebody, but a real joy to our family, but I still agree with your original premise.

Oh........did I mention the three little girls we've adopted when they were a day old? Cats & dogs - I can accept the excuses. It's the way this attitude has slithered its way down to little children that tears my heart out.

We have just found 6-8 1/2 grown starving cats running around our rural area. We had several pairs of quail with 11 thumb-size babies. They were so cute. The cats killed all but 1 of the babies and several adults. My husband wants to shoot them. They are wild and will not make good pets. If we don't shoot them or if the neighborn don't trap them, I guess the red fox family living near the creekbed will kill them. It's too bad, some of them are really beautiful cats, if they wern't so skinny. They look like walking skeletons. Hubby won't let me put out any cat food.

this is so sad.. I hate the world we live in sometimes. Some people are so discusting and I can't believe how they can "throw away" a living creature of any sort...I've saved a few throw aways too,but only have so much room here! I would save them all if I could afford it and had the proper space for them. I like the saying "one man's garbage is another mans treasure"
it's true for many saved pets,mine included

Several years ago, during a hike, my wife and I stumbled upon a whole litter of abandoned puppies in a remote area of the NJ Pine Barrens. We must have arrived on the scene just hours after they were dumped. We hiked back to the truck, and were able to drive back to the puppies. We loaded them up, and they were placed in a shelter. Someone made the heartless decision to subject them to a slow death. The effort to take them to a shelter would have been much less than the effort abandon them in the woods. I don't get it.

Hear hear!!
Until recently, I worked as a state park naturalist for years, and it never ceased to amaze me the animals people would dump (when nobody was watching of course)...kittens, cats, dogs of all ages, ducks, geese, a goat, and in one case - a tiny Netherland Dwarf rabbit. Do these people just think they're going to go "free", or do they realize that they've taken hours and hours away from employee's official duties so we could catch an animal and deal with it...letting our animal-loving consciences pay the price when we had no choice but to take the critter to the pound? I don't know what goes through a person's head, if anything...probably something like "not my problem" anymore.
Sometimes we were able to find homes or adopt ourselves (our cat Otis was a dumpee, and the rabbit went to an employee's granddaughter). Unfortunately, the goat was hit by a car before he could be caught, and we suffered plagues of wild cats which decimated the very wildlife people came to see - birds, chipmunks, squirrels...
Unfortunately these unfeeling people are everywhere, and will likely continue to be as their children are taught the same throw-away attitude. I've always thought a person should have to pass some kind of test to have a pet. But then...the same would have to be true for having kids...

Three of our five cats were "throw-aways". They are sweet, loving cats. We just don't have room or the money for any more, it cost so much now for vet bills, food, litter and such. They can be tamed if you catch them when there are young. Once they get wild, its hard to tame them even if you can get close to them. It's just a shame to treat any of God's creatures like that.

We live at the end of a long, gravel road well outside a very small town (ONE traffic light in the whole place) so I guess we qualify as "country". We did rescue one pup who turned up in front of our gate - dh took the little guy down the road and over to his local pub...got 4 offers to adopt him. But we can hardly do that often!

The past few days we've been seeing pups out there again - more than one this time. We have no idea where they came from but they may not be drop offs. You see, there are so many people in our neighborhood who allow their dogs and cats to run wild. Just two days ago I passed a pair of dogs who were still connected beside the road not far from my house. There are three or four dogs on our road that chase my car every morning and evening as I go to and from work. There is NO WAY I could take walks on our road...not without a gun. I actually hesitate to go outside the gate to pick up the mail or to clear weeds from the ditch. We have gone so far as to have the sheriff install a camera to try to "get the goods" on a pack of shepherds who run loose and have bitten several people and caused a lot of damage in the area. I doubt that all those dogs have their shots up to date.

I shudder to think how many puppies result from all this "freedom"...or what happens to all of them. I, too, hate this world sometimes. And I often despair of the utter lack of thought so many people exhibit. And the city folks don't seem to have the stupidity market totally cornered.

When it gets too wild outside our fence we call animal control. But that has no effect at all. And now we are being warned that there is a rabies outbreak in our county. Oh swell.

Very timely:

Last week, I was "held hostage" by a dumped pit bull who originally squirmed her way under my fences into my back yard. Therefore, I couldn't let my dogs out all day.

Later, she worked her way to my sheep fields. I saw this happening, and secured my sheep in the barn, JUST as she was entering through the back way. By that time, I'd been waiting 7 hours for animal control to pick her up. I was armed only with an umbrella!

The dog just camped out, and attempted to wait me out - it took a further hour for animal control to finally get to my barn, and take her away. Of course, I couldn't leave - otherwise, I just can't imagine the attack on my sheep.

I had attempted to capture her earlier with food, etc., but she was just too unsocialized.

NOT my idea of a fun and productive day.

"Last week, I was "held hostage" by a dumped pit bull who originally squirmed her way under my fences into my back yard. "

I was waiting for someone to bring up something like this. I'm glad you (and your animals) weren't hurt.

I wouldn't live in a rural area without having some type of protection. If you aren't comfortable having a gun, perhaps you could get a stun gun to carry when you walk to the mail box. At least you would have some way to protect yourself until animal control could get there.

Gotta love and loathe these sort of stories. We've
'saved' a couple animals before... Mostly from humane societies and the like, though, nothing unusual. A pair of rats who were/are the sweetest things that their previous owners literally did not want... a girl and boy guinea pig our uncle had in a basement in smelly cages (too many pets...). Once met a woman who had her share of pets and once upon a time her sister, who worked in a lab, offered her a boy rat who was healthy but going to be put down because there wasn't any use for him. :o She then had him for two years, he stayed robust, and was pottytrained so that he'd run to his cage when he needed to :) (which, when it comes to male rats, is a very good thing indeed). lol

Well, sometimes you can't blame people totally. (Although dumping them in the woods or out in the country isn't smart!) We had a stray show up at our home in the suburbs- she is sweet, but my husband won't let her stay because she destroys our gardens. We tried every type of barrier and deterrant that we can afford, but the cat is very stubborn and will even poop over a chicken wire barrier. We can't adopt her as an indoor cat because our current indoor cat of 6 years would not tollerate it. Faced with this problem and not wanting to take it to the pound where after only 5 days they are euthanized, I set out contacting EVERY shelter and cat organization within 50 miles. Guess what? All are full! Even the cat adoption program has a 4 month waiting list. Apparently it's kitten season, so nobody wants adult cats- they end up on the chopping block! So what are we supposed to do? I tried putting ads in the paper for adoption, asking everyone I know- no luck finding a home for the cat. So, here's what we did: I took her in, spent $70 having her spayed and shots. Then, once she was fully healed, we drove her to a quiet suburban neighborhood and dropped her off. Why? Well for one, we figure SOMEONE will take her in- most people we know aquired their cat as a stray. Someone who does not already have an indoor cat can take her in and have her as an inside cat. Either that, or they will call animal control and the cat will be taken to the pound. At LEAST she has a 50/50 chance! No way will she starve to death in a neighborhood full of people- she'll do just what she did when she came to our home...she'll show up at the doorstep, and the people will either take her in or call animal contol. So, sometimes it's the only option, unless you think taking them straight to the pound where they'll be killed is better than at least giving them the chance for adoption.

ansony, you didn't need to post here AND start a new, identical thread about the joys of dumping unwanted animals off on someone else.

Dumping animals is wrong. Period. If you get an animal, you are accepting responsibility to keep it under the best conditions possible until the day it dies. If you can't do this, don't get an animal. If your situation changes and you can't keep your pet, it is ALSO your responsibility to find a good home for it, or bite the bullet and turn it into the pound.

There's no crime in suddenly becoming unable to keep a pet. The sin is keeping one in neglectful conditions and not having the brains or courage to rectify the situation in the pets' best interest.

Velvet ~:>

IMHO, most farms already have cats. We need them to control the rodent population. Usually, kittens and grown cats dumped near a farm will not be allowed in the territory of the resident cats. Our cats are neutered/spayed and chase away any cat who comes on our property.

Our barn cats are well looked after, neutered, fed, wormed and vaccinated. They don't need strays coming, bringing disease or fighting with them as they protect their territory.

I almost hesitate to say a real thank you to the person who dumped the most gentle well-behaved, healthy, affectionate, 6 month old main coon cross at our farm during a winter storm 2 years ago. After getting him neutered, he has been an excellent house cat. He even catches mice.

But don't do it again! Our cat quota is full at one in the house and two in the barn. The next arrival won't be greeted with the same affection.