Feral Cats, Sanctuary Life & The Reality of Rescue

Dixie: 00:00:02

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.

299

: 00:17:33

And some of the people in this area don't

have the 85 bucks, much less don't want

300

: 00:17:38

to make that drive there, 'cause you

have to drop them off and then go back

301

: 00:17:42

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

302

: 00:17:46

So that's one of the biggest problems

here is just not having a local vet

303

: 00:17:53

and the community not having the money.

304

: 00:17:56

Now they're quick to build the population,

and I've always said there's more cats

305

: 00:18:00

in Screven County than there are humans.

306

: 00:18:03

I've never been in a county

where there's many stray cats.

307

: 00:18:07

But again, we can't rescue

our way out of overpopulation.

308

: 00:18:11

Something's gonna have to be done.

309

: 00:18:15

Dixie: Yeah, and in my area, we have

some really good low-cost programs.

310

: 00:18:20

Very low cost.

311

: 00:18:23

And we still can't get

people on board here.

312

: 00:18:27

We don't have counties here in

Louisiana, we have parishes.

313

: 00:18:29

The parish that I'm in Jefferson

Parish, it's actually free to

314

: 00:18:34

go get a feral cat fixed Wow.

315

: 00:18:37

Yeah.

316

: 00:18:38

And then when you talk about Orleans,

where New Orleans is and Jefferson Parish,

317

: 00:18:43

we have both really low cost to go get

a spay/neuter done for an owned cat.

318

: 00:18:48

And we still have a difficult time

getting people on board with it.

319

: 00:18:53

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

320

: 00:18:56

I know, I always get the word out.

321

: 00:18:59

Whenever I talk to somebody, whether

I'm at an adoption event or a market

322

: 00:19:04

and they bring up their animals,

the first question I always ask is,

323

: 00:19:07

"Okay, are they spayed and neutered,

and what city do you live in?

324

: 00:19:10

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

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

325

: 00:19:15

And it's sad because some

people are receptive to it

326

: 00:19:18

and just other people are not.

327

: 00:19:19

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

like you still can't get people on board.

328

: 00:19:26

So , it's a struggle.

329

: 00:19:29

Vicki: It is a struggle.

330

: 00:19:30

And even if it's the only animal in

your home and they don't go outside,

331

: 00:19:33

there's health issues that come with

a cat or a female dog going through

332

: 00:19:39

a heat cycle and nothing happening.

333

: 00:19:42

And they don't go through menopause.

334

: 00:19:44

Like they will have babies

up until the day they die.

335

: 00:19:47

When we done an event, we

took, plastic kitten figurines.

336

: 00:19:51

We got like 200 of them off of Temu.

337

: 00:19:54

And every time somebody walked up, we

would give them a kitten, and we would

338

: 00:19:59

explain to them about spay and neuter and

why it was so important and what one cat

339

: 00:20:05

could do the the first year of their life.

340

: 00:20:07

Because they can get pregnant

as early as four months.

341

: 00:20:11

And they don't know what to do at four

months if they're gonna get pregnant.

342

: 00:20:14

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

343

: 00:20:17

So we gave out all but

25 of our cat figurines.

344

: 00:20:22

That's how many people

we were able to talk to.

345

: 00:20:24

Now, did it go in one

ear and out the other?

346

: 00:20:26

Probably.

347

: 00:20:28

I don't know why people are so against

spaying and neuter-neutering their

348

: 00:20:31

animal, but there is absolutely no

medical reason why they need to stay

349

: 00:20:35

intact and have reproductive organs

if they're just your house cat.

350

: 00:20:41

There's just no sense in it.

351

: 00:20:43

One person was gonna go have their

cat neutered and they said , 'cause

352

: 00:20:46

I'm tired of it spraying."

353

: 00:20:48

Neutering is not gonna keep

your cat from spraying.

354

: 00:20:51

They also spray from stress.

355

: 00:20:52

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

356

: 00:20:57

So I don't know.

357

: 00:20:58

What I'm trying to put together is kinda

I don't know how about when you grew

358

: 00:21:01

up, there used to be a bus that come

around to try and encourage kids to ride

359

: 00:21:05

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

come up with a way that we can do that.

360

: 00:21:10

I've got someone working on a grant

for me to get a transport vehicle.

361

: 00:21:16

And if they want their cat spayed

or neutered, we will come pick

362

: 00:21:20

the cat up, we will take the cat,

and we will bring the cat back.

363

: 00:21:24

So that eliminates that part of

it, the transportation part of it.

364

: 00:21:28

And we've got a connection with

a vet in North Carolina that if I

365

: 00:21:34

bring in 30 cats, they would get

all of their necessary vaccines,

366

: 00:21:39

rabies, plus be spayed or neutered.

367

: 00:21:42

And 30 cats are…

368

: 00:21:43

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

30 cats, and that's pretty good.

369

: 00:21:50

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

I'm thinking 30 cats to begin with.

370

: 00:21:54

If it goes good, then

I do another 30 cats.

371

: 00:21:57

Because between March and

October is kitten season

372

: 00:22:04

Dixie: Yeah, that would

definitely help put a dent in it.

373

: 00:22:06

30 cats, that's a good bit.

374

: 00:22:08

Vicki: Yeah, that is a good bit.

375

: 00:22:11

And a lot of people, they're,

hear lately their excuse is

376

: 00:22:14

the cat's already pregnant."

377

: 00:22:16

It still needs to go get spayed.

378

: 00:22:19

Yes.

379

: 00:22:19

Why, the people are so against that.

380

: 00:22:21

They think it's so cruel to spay,

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

381

: 00:22:25

What are you gonna do with the six,

eight kittens that cat might have?"

382

: 00:22:30

What are you gonna do with them?

383

: 00:22:31

They're gonna end up in rescue.

384

: 00:22:33

They're gonna end up outside

and turn into a feral cat.

385

: 00:22:37

So now is the time to

have your cat spayed.

386

: 00:22:42

Dixie: Yeah and another thing with that

is the people that do that and they don't

387

: 00:22:48

wanna have these litters of kittens,

they have these litters of kittens, and

388

: 00:22:54

they wanna get rid of them right away.

389

: 00:22:56

So they'll look for a rescue to

take them, but, rescues are swamped.

390

: 00:23:01

We're all full.

391

: 00:23:02

Once kitten- … season starts running

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

392

: 00:23:06

You have to go find a foster.

393

: 00:23:09

And finding a foster takes a while.

394

: 00:23:11

You don't just find a

foster in a few hours.

395

: 00:23:14

Sometimes it takes a few

weeks to find a foster.

396

: 00:23:17

So you try to help people out.

397

: 00:23:18

You try to tell them look,

you take care of them.

398

: 00:23:22

When the kittens are big enough, then

we can go ahead and try to get the

399

: 00:23:26

kittens spayed and neutered, and then

try to help you place them, but at

400

: 00:23:30

least they'll be spayed or neutered."

401

: 00:23:32

But they don't wanna even

wait, and it's like you're

402

: 00:23:35

irresponsible with your animals.

403

: 00:23:37

You let your animals reproduce.

404

: 00:23:39

Your animals get pregnant.

405

: 00:23:40

They have kittens.

406

: 00:23:41

Now you wanna give them away,

and you don't wanna wait.

407

: 00:23:45

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

find random people to give them to.

408

: 00:23:49

And- … you're lucky if the kittens

don't end up in a bad situation,

409

: 00:23:53

'cause there's plenty of bad

situations that they can end up in.

410

: 00:23:56

But- Yeah … if they do go to a home

with somebody that actually wants a

411

: 00:24:00

kitten and is gonna take care of them,

it's the same situation and the same

412

: 00:24:04

cycle over because if they don't get

that kitten fixed by the time it's four

413

: 00:24:08

months old, it's reproducing again.

414

: 00:24:10

And so then it just never ends.

415

: 00:24:13

And I just really wish that people

would be, receptive to that because

416

: 00:24:17

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

to make them when I don't have room.

417

: 00:24:21

Just hold onto them until

they're eight to 10 weeks old.

418

: 00:24:23

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

and we'll get them spayed or neutered.

419

: 00:24:27

But it's like they want the problem gone

right away, and they just don't care.

420

: 00:24:34

Vicki: And I always try and convince

somebody too, can you foster in place?

421

: 00:24:38

All the medical will be taken care of.

422

: 00:24:41

We will send you food.

423

: 00:24:42

You have to pull nothing

out of your pocket.

424

: 00:24:44

You just provide the place for,

the kitten and just foster in

425

: 00:24:47

place until we can get room.

426

: 00:24:50

They don't wanna do that either

427

: 00:24:53

Because in this area I cannot find

any fosters or volunteers, period.

428

: 00:24:59

I don't know why.

429

: 00:25:00

I have a puppy that has Jack Russell

in it that desperately needs a foster

430

: 00:25:08

because it needs to have more one-on-one

time to teach, the puppy manners and

431

: 00:25:14

not to do this and not to do that.

432

: 00:25:15

And I don't have that time because

there's so many other animals.

433

: 00:25:20

It takes us about three and a half

hours to do our morning routine

434

: 00:25:26

And it's, that's going through and

cleaning kennels, cleaning litter boxes,

435

: 00:25:31

shoving everybody out into their run so

we can clean the floors and the walls

436

: 00:25:35

to help prevent any kind of disease or

infection spread, and picking up the

437

: 00:25:42

bowls and cleaning them, cleaning water

containers, refilling them, walking the

438

: 00:25:46

dogs to get them out to stretch their

legs a little bit and playing with them.

439

: 00:25:50

And then when you get done,

you get two or three hours and

440

: 00:25:52

it's time to start over again.

441

: 00:25:56

That's the side people don't see.

442

: 00:25:57

They just think we're just

sitting here collecting animals

443

: 00:26:00

and think we make a profit.

444

: 00:26:01

I know my rescue personally

does not make a profit at all.

445

: 00:26:06

I lose money.

446

: 00:26:08

I definitely lose money

with my adoption fees.

447

: 00:26:13

Dixie: Yeah.

448

: 00:26:13

When they see an adoption fee, they

see the adoption fee as the spay,

449

: 00:26:17

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

450

: 00:26:20

They don't see the back end of

that adoption fee, which would be

451

: 00:26:23

all the food and litter that you

have to use to get them ready.

452

: 00:26:27

All the medical, because babies get sick.

453

: 00:26:30

You can't help it.

454

: 00:26:31

It's sometimes it's like nursery school.

455

: 00:26:33

They're gonna get sick.

456

: 00:26:34

They're gonna get upper

respiratory infections, and

457

: 00:26:37

they're gonna- … need meds.

458

: 00:26:38

They're gonna need fluids sometimes.

459

: 00:26:40

They need to go to the vet.

460

: 00:26:42

And people don't see that side of it,

and instead they think that you're

461

: 00:26:46

you're making money off of an adoption.

462

: 00:26:49

Vicki: No.

463

: 00:26:50

No way.

464

: 00:26:50

You're losing money because I, we go

through 600 pounds of cat litter a month

465

: 00:26:57

So I do have a company that I partnered

with that will send me 50 pounds of cat

466

: 00:27:04

litter for free, and then the concept

is if, when someone adopts a cat, I

467

: 00:27:11

give them the link and they go sign up.

468

: 00:27:14

They get a free 20 pound bag of

that litter if they like it, which,

469

: 00:27:18

all of the cats use the litter.

470

: 00:27:19

It's all natural.

471

: 00:27:22

And they can sign up to get litter

delivered to their house and from

472

: 00:27:26

each person who purchases basically

a subscription, our rescue gets $20.

473

: 00:27:32

But it's just, we decided to go all

natural because we have so many kittens.

474

: 00:27:39

You're not, with as many cats as

we have inside of our house, you're

475

: 00:27:44

not gonna get rid of that smell.

476

: 00:27:46

I don't care what kind of litter,

I don't care what it promises.

477

: 00:27:49

No, it's not gonna happen

478

: 00:27:54

Dixie: How do you handle your adoptions?

479

: 00:27:56

What venues do you use

to get them adopted?

480

: 00:28:00

Vicki: I use Petfinder.

481

: 00:28:01

I think I'm on

482

: 00:28:05

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

483

: 00:28:06

I think rescue.org,

484

: 00:28:10

and then just advertising

them on the Facebook page

485

: 00:28:15

and hoping people will share.

486

: 00:28:17

I…

487

: 00:28:18

But I have OJ.

488

: 00:28:19

He's completely ready, to go.

489

: 00:28:21

He's been completely ready to go.

490

: 00:28:24

And he's one of the ones that

him and his brother PJ is like,

491

: 00:28:28

"Why are y'all still here?

492

: 00:28:30

Y'all are real cute.

493

: 00:28:31

You're real loving.

494

: 00:28:33

You don't mess up anything.

495

: 00:28:34

They're not messy with

their litter box at all.

496

: 00:28:37

You're a dream cat."

497

: 00:28:41

And they're still here.

498

: 00:28:42

So we're gonna start doing adoption events

I think next month and just taking the

499

: 00:28:48

cats and some of the dogs and letting

people interact with them and stuff.

500

: 00:28:53

And if they want to adopt, they have to

go fill out the adoption application.

501

: 00:28:57

They have to sign the adoption contract,

which in our contract states they

502

: 00:29:02

cannot surrender the dog or cat to

animal control or humane society.

503

: 00:29:07

They have to bring the animal back to us.

504

: 00:29:10

They cannot rehome the cat or dog.

505

: 00:29:13

They have to bring it back to us, and they

can't have the animal euthanized unless

506

: 00:29:18

it is medically necessary deemed by a

veterinarian, and we have to see that.

507

: 00:29:23

And if they break any of those rules,

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

508

: 00:29:32

don't want you adopting an animal from me

just to later re-home it because it was

509

: 00:29:37

doing something you didn't agree with.

510

: 00:29:39

Bring it back, tell us what's wrong,

let us work it out, so that we can

511

: 00:29:43

be transparent for the next person.

512

: 00:29:46

But I had just found out by luck that

one of the people who adopted one of

513

: 00:29:50

my Siamese re-homed it for 25 bucks.

514

: 00:29:54

Dixie: Oh, wow.

515

: 00:29:55

Vicki: And yeah, the lady reached

out to me, and I was gonna be

516

: 00:29:59

ugly and mean, but after doing

her reference checks and her…

517

: 00:30:05

I was like, "Okay, this cat

is gonna be in a good home."

518

: 00:30:08

I let it go.

519

: 00:30:09

I-- And I know the person that

that adopted from me, she wouldn't

520

: 00:30:12

have been able to pay a fine.

521

: 00:30:15

I just mainly put that in there,

because I hope people realize that it's

522

: 00:30:19

okay if you have to bring them back.

523

: 00:30:20

Just tell us why.

524

: 00:30:22

You don't be scared to.

525

: 00:30:26

I would much rather them come back to

me than end up in an animal shelter

526

: 00:30:29

or humane society, or in the wrong

hands of somebody- Yeah … that

527

: 00:30:33

does awful things to kittens.

528

: 00:30:35

Dixie: Yeah.

529

: 00:30:36

All of the rescues that are in our area,

they all have that in their contract,

530

: 00:30:40

that if you can't keep the animal for

any reason, they ask you bring it back.

531

: 00:30:45

And I run a couple of lost pets

and rehoming sites on social media.

532

: 00:30:50

Sure.

533

: 00:30:50

And I see people all the time, they're

giving away cats and adult cats.

534

: 00:30:56

It just seems it seems like everybody

is giving away adult cats right now.

535

: 00:31:00

And so I'll always ask them,

where did the cat come from?"

536

: 00:31:04

And sometimes they'll say, "Oh, I

got it from such and such a place."

537

: 00:31:08

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

it over here, that's this rescue.

538

: 00:31:12

You need to call them up.

539

: 00:31:13

They're gonna take their cats back."

540

: 00:31:16

And, sometimes they

won't even contact them.

541

: 00:31:18

So if it's somebody that I notice or

somebody I have contacts with, I'll alert

542

: 00:31:22

them to the post so they can get involved.

543

: 00:31:24

But "You're desperately looking

for somebody to take your cat.

544

: 00:31:26

The rescue's gonna take your

cat back, but you don't wanna

545

: 00:31:28

call the rescue and tell them?"

546

: 00:31:33

Vicki: Yeah, that's what gets me.

547

: 00:31:35

That's what gets me is why do you

wanna get rid of it and giving it away

548

: 00:31:40

for free when you know the rescue…

549

: 00:31:43

And most rescues will come pick 'em back

up, if they're within a certain distance.

550

: 00:31:47

Don't, you don't even

have to bring it to us.

551

: 00:31:49

We'll come get it.

552

: 00:31:51

I just, I really, I don't

understand people with animals.

553

: 00:31:53

I really don't.

554

: 00:31:56

A lot of this is common sense.

555

: 00:31:59

I don't understand people.

556

: 00:32:00

We have a Yorkie.

557

: 00:32:01

He's intact, and the only

reason he's intact is 'cause he

558

: 00:32:04

cannot be anesthetized at all.

559

: 00:32:07

He was sedated to be groomed, and he had

such a bad reaction to that, the vet was

560

: 00:32:12

like, "He can never be anesthetized."

561

: 00:32:14

And he's 10 years old now

I don't have any females.

562

: 00:32:17

But these people giving away adult

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

563

: 00:32:21

because she's walking around doing

her mating call or spraying to try

564

: 00:32:25

and get the attention of a male cat.

565

: 00:32:27

Or if it's a male cat that they have

and not neutered, they don't realize

566

: 00:32:31

even though that cat's inside your

house, it can still smell a cat in heat.

567

: 00:32:36

And so now he's going around

marking because he's trying

568

: 00:32:39

to get to the cat in heat.

569

: 00:32:42

Dixie: Yeah, I just saw a video

a few minutes before the call,

570

: 00:32:46

and it was this girl, and she

said her cat had gotten outside.

571

: 00:32:50

So she brought the cat back in the house,

572

: 00:32:52

he's standing at the

window, and he's howling.

573

: 00:32:55

And so she's looking for

veterinary help online.

574

: 00:32:58

"Why is my cat making this noise?

575

: 00:33:00

I took him to the vet.

576

: 00:33:02

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

help because my cat is at the door,

577

: 00:33:06

at the window making all this noise.

578

: 00:33:08

He's walking around the house doing this."

579

: 00:33:10

So I knew what it was right away.

580

: 00:33:11

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

581

: 00:33:13

It turns out, of course,

that's what it was.

582

: 00:33:14

He was not neutered.

583

: 00:33:16

Vicki: And that's why a lot of

people go and have kittens fixed

584

: 00:33:19

when they are of the right weight.

585

: 00:33:21

Because if you don't let them experience

that manhood or the womanhood then

586

: 00:33:27

they won't react when they get older

to, especially the male cats, will

587

: 00:33:32

not react to a female being in heat

'cause they won't know what that

588

: 00:33:35

is, 'cause they've never they've

never had hormones go through them.

589

: 00:33:39

And so a lot of people don't realize

that either, and it's like just they

590

: 00:33:44

think that two pounds is too small.

591

: 00:33:47

Okay.

592

: 00:33:48

Wait till your two-pound kitten that

you decided not to have fixed starts

593

: 00:33:52

giving birth in a couple of months.

594

: 00:33:55

They're too young to have babies, too.

595

: 00:33:58

But I try and get all of these

kittens fixed as soon as the vet

596

: 00:34:03

says, "Okay, they can be fixed."

597

: 00:34:05

And 'cause she's not gonna fix

them if they're on a medication

598

: 00:34:07

for a URI or, anything else.

599

: 00:34:11

She wants to get them better

because she knows kittens

600

: 00:34:14

that young can crash quickly.

601

: 00:34:17

Blood sugars can drop, blood

pressure can drop, while they're

602

: 00:34:20

anesthetized to be fixed.

603

: 00:34:23

So she wants them healthy before

she does it, which is fine with

604

: 00:34:27

me, as long as it gets done

605

: 00:34:31

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

them in, like we have the man

606

: 00:34:36

cave and we have the woman cave.

607

: 00:34:38

So we keep them separated, the

ones that aren't fixed, and we

608

: 00:34:42

slowly get them in to get fixed

609

: 00:34:47

But yeah people don't even know these,

how female cats, it's not like dogs where

610

: 00:34:56

they go in heat every three to six months.

611

: 00:34:59

There is actually a kitten season

that run from March to October.

612

: 00:35:05

In that one season, that mama

can have a at least, at tops,

613

: 00:35:09

probably three litters, if not more

614

: 00:35:14

Dixie: Yeah, it's an astronomical

number when you look at it.

615

: 00:35:17

Oh, yeah … by the time those

kittens are four months old.

616

: 00:35:22

So it's like the mom cat will give

birth to the kittens, have kittens.

617

: 00:35:26

Those kittens are weaned, the mom

cat gets pregnant, and by the time

618

: 00:35:30

the mom cat has that litter of

kittens, the first batch of kittens

619

: 00:35:34

is probably having its own kittens.

620

: 00:35:37

Vicki: Yep, and that's

621

: 00:35:40

The cycle's easy to be broke.

622

: 00:35:42

You just have to go and spay and neuter

623

: 00:35:46

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

hard for people to un- to understand,

624

: 00:35:50

but I get the ones that don't have

transportation or the finances, but,

625

: 00:35:55

for all the other people who are

living in extremely nice homes and

626

: 00:35:58

driving nice cars and have their nails

done every week, what's your excuse?

627

: 00:36:03

Dixie: Yeah, that's a good question.

628

: 00:36:05

Vicki: Go one week without

having your nails done.

629

: 00:36:07

That'll cover a spay.

630

: 00:36:13

Dixie: Do you find that you do

more sanctuary than compared

631

: 00:36:17

to your actual adoptions?

632

: 00:36:21

Vicki: Yes.

633

: 00:36:23

Yes, I do.

634

: 00:36:24

Also mainly, any animal I also take

in or is taken in under the sanctuary.

635

: 00:36:29

You don't have to have a shelter

license to run a sanctuary.

636

: 00:36:33

So not knowing the situation of the animal

coming in, I bring them in under the

637

: 00:36:38

sanctuary to where they can go through

all the medical checks, get vaccines

638

: 00:36:43

and whatever, and then I start…

639

: 00:36:45

I put them on the rescue side of it,

where I start posting their pictures

640

: 00:36:50

on our website and advertising them.

641

: 00:36:52

But like we got two German shepherds

from a court case where it was a police

642

: 00:36:57

officer who actually was train- had a K9

business and was training these dogs, and

643

: 00:37:03

it's like how do you spend so much time

training these dogs who know good commands

644

: 00:37:08

and then turn around and starve them?

645

: 00:37:10

Because when they come to

us, they were 30 pounds.

646

: 00:37:12

Dixie: Oh, wow.

647

: 00:37:14

Vicki: And we've got them at their

ideal weight of 72 pounds now.

648

: 00:37:19

But I can tell you right now, these

two German shepherds, I'm not gonna

649

: 00:37:24

feel comfortable adopting them

out because Faith will not make

650

: 00:37:28

eye contact with you at all, so

you know, I'm worried about her.

651

: 00:37:33

And Florence just, she's got

a lot of built-up energy.

652

: 00:37:37

Somebody would have to really convince

me that they are very experienced

653

: 00:37:42

in the GSD, and they understand

their activity level and that they

654

: 00:37:47

need a job and how to handle them.

655

: 00:37:50

They would not be able to go into

a home that had cats or other dogs.

656

: 00:37:55

If you have small children, these

dogs are gonna have to be kenneled,

657

: 00:37:58

and you're going to have to teach

your child not to stick their finger

658

: 00:38:00

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

659

: 00:38:03

So with all the stipulations that

I have on these two shepherds,

660

: 00:38:07

they're not gonna get adopted.

661

: 00:38:11

Dixie: Now, with you being with you

being primarily a sanctuary, do you think

662

: 00:38:16

that limits your opportunity at grants?

663

: 00:38:22

Vicki: No, because I apply

for grants under the rescue.

664

: 00:38:25

It's just we've only had our shelter

license come this October for a year,

665

: 00:38:31

and I have found it's very hard when

you don't have a revenue to show some

666

: 00:38:35

of these places that are doing the

grants and you don't have that intake

667

: 00:38:41

to adoption ratio to show them because

you're just beginning and you've

668

: 00:38:45

only had your shelter license a year.

669

: 00:38:48

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

670

: 00:38:51

Dixie: Yeah, that's actually what I

meant, was the actual adoption numbers.

671

: 00:38:54

'Cause I've heard this from another lady

that does primarily just all sanctuary,

672

: 00:38:58

and she does a lot of adult cats and adult

dogs and more special needs type cases,

673

: 00:39:04

so ones that are difficult to adopt.

674

: 00:39:07

Vicki: Yep.

675

: 00:39:07

Dixie: And so she does have a

hard time sometimes getting grants

676

: 00:39:11

because she doesn't have those

numbers showing all these adoptions.

677

: 00:39:16

And I know that a lot of the times that

is a requirement, is that you have to show

678

: 00:39:20

that you have so many adoptions before

you're even eligible to get a grant.

679

: 00:39:26

Vicki: Oh, yeah.

680

: 00:39:27

And that's what makes it hard on the

small rescues, and then there's also

681

: 00:39:31

that gatekeeping from, rescues that

have been open for a while, and they

682

: 00:39:36

have contacts and, but they gatekeep it.

683

: 00:39:39

It's a competitive thing

in this area with rescues.

684

: 00:39:42

And it's like we should all have the

same goal at the end of the day, which

685

: 00:39:48

is to either provide a, a happy, safe,

lovable place for this animal to live

686

: 00:39:56

or be able to adopt them out to a

happy, safe, lovable place to live.

687

: 00:40:01

There should be no

competitive or whatever.

688

: 00:40:04

And I share other rescues because

if I see them sharing a dog three or

689

: 00:40:09

four times, I'm gonna start sharing it

because maybe my reach and my area is

690

: 00:40:16

looking for that type of dog, and it's

just wherever that rescue's at, maybe

691

: 00:40:20

that's not the type of dog people like.

692

: 00:40:22

'Cause there is that the designer

dogs, of course, get adopted really

693

: 00:40:27

quick, the little small designer dogs.

694

: 00:40:30

And of course your nanny

dogs, which is what I refer to

695

: 00:40:33

them, but they're pit bulls.

696

: 00:40:34

Anything mixed with a pit

bull is not gonna get adopted.

697

: 00:40:39

That's just, plain and simple, and

I don't know why other than the

698

: 00:40:44

horror stories of what's been put

on the news of what pit bull's done.

699

: 00:40:49

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

and find out how did you raise this dog?

700

: 00:40:53

What was the purpose of this

dog when you got it and then

701

: 00:40:57

turned around and had a child?

702

: 00:40:58

'Cause if you were raising that dog

to be, aggressive and to guard your

703

: 00:41:03

house, then you should have never

let your child around that dog.

704

: 00:41:08

That's just common sense.

705

: 00:41:09

We had shepherds growing up, and

my dad would keep, Smokey put

706

: 00:41:15

up, and he only come out of his

kennel at night because he…

707

: 00:41:19

That's what he done.

708

: 00:41:20

He'd guard the house, but we were

never around him when he was out

709

: 00:41:24

because he was an aggressive dog.

710

: 00:41:26

So it's just common sense.

711

: 00:41:29

It does not exist anymore.

712

: 00:41:32

I've never attempted to get a grant

for the sanctuary, but I know you could

713

: 00:41:37

probably Google grants for sanctuaries.

714

: 00:41:40

Because again, that's

where common sense come in.

715

: 00:41:43

The people doing the grants, if

they advertise rescue shelters and

716

: 00:41:46

sanctuaries, then they should know if

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

717

: 00:41:51

not gonna have those adoption numbers.

718

: 00:41:55

Because you're a sanctuary, which

means that animal's gonna live their

719

: 00:41:58

life out there, not get adopted.

720

: 00:42:02

So I don't know.

721

: 00:42:03

I have the mayor of our town helping

me with a couple of grants right now,

722

: 00:42:07

'cause she's good at grant writing.

723

: 00:42:10

Oh, that's wonderful.

724

: 00:42:12

We're gonna try and get

a transportation van.

725

: 00:42:16

I really wanna help the community by being

the bus, trying to take some excuses away.

726

: 00:42:22

If I can remove your excuses,

then will you allow me to do this?

727

: 00:42:30

And that's what I'm going for.

728

: 00:42:32

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

just my favorite tagline now is we…

729

: 00:42:39

You can't rescue your way

out of overpopulation.

730

: 00:42:42

You just can't

731

: 00:42:45

And the hardest part is saying no

732

: 00:42:50

Dixie: It is.

733

: 00:42:51

It is, especially when you see

so many of them that you do wanna

734

: 00:42:55

help 'cause you know that they

might be in a bad situation, but if

735

: 00:42:57

you're full, it is very difficult.

736

: 00:43:02

Vicki: It is.

737

: 00:43:02

It's very difficult.

738

: 00:43:06

Dixie: Before we end the call, can

you tell people how they can find

739

: 00:43:09

out about Kindred Tail Sanctuary?

740

: 00:43:14

Vicki: Yes, we have a Facebook page

which i- would be listed as Kindred

741

: 00:43:17

Tails Sanctuary CO, and then our

website is kindredtailsanctuary.org

742

: 00:43:27

Dixie: Okay, great.

743

: 00:43:27

I'm gonna

744

: 00:43:27

Vicki: include

745

: 00:43:28

Dixie: those in the show notes too,

so people can go to your links.

746

: 00:43:32

Vicki: Okay.

747

: 00:43:35

That would be awesome.

748

: 00:43:35

And if, someone wants to make donations

or sign up to volunteer or foster

749

: 00:43:40

and they're within the area you can

find all of those applications on

750

: 00:43:44

the website and the donation site.

751

: 00:43:47

Volunteering if it's somebody in another

state, we have a couple of openings

752

: 00:43:51

for remote volunteers that we need.

753

: 00:43:55

So we could use some volunteers.

754

: 00:43:58

Dixie: And I know you said

you're in Georgia, but what

755

: 00:44:00

actually what city are you in?

756

: 00:44:03

Vicki: We are in Newington, Georgia.

757

: 00:44:05

So we are about an hour

from Savannah, Georgia.

758

: 00:44:12

Dixie: All right.

759

: 00:44:12

Thank you so much for coming on the show

today to talk about what you do and,

760

: 00:44:16

Yeah … good luck on getting that grant.

761

: 00:44:18

I really hope you get it.

762

: 00:44:20

Vicki: Thank you for having me,

and I enjoyed being on the show,

763

: 00:44:24

and I'll keep you posted about it.

764

: 00:44:26

Dixie: Yeah, please do.

765

: 00:44:27

Please do, 'cause we would love to put an

update in on, on the air or something, or

766

: 00:44:31

just in the show notes if you do get it.

767

: 00:44:33

That would be a great update to add.

768

: 00:44:35

So I would love to find out.

769

: 00:44:37

Vicki: Thank you so much.