No Good Deed…

Wow! Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! Danged if you do, danged if you don’t!

I think the first thing I would ask is did the woman know they had feline leukemia? Did she ever take them to a vet to check? If she didn’t, while being kind enough to take care of them and bottle feed them, she didn’t put forth due diligence in ensuring that the cats she’s trying to rehome are healthy. She should had had them checked. If she knew and just didn’t say anything, then she was dishonest in not fully disclosing their health in full.

I feel for the family that just got the kittens, though I wonder why they were put to sleep quite so quickly. FeLV is manageable, annoying, but manageable, especially if they didn’t have any other cats, but if they didn’t want to deal with it, the family really should have asked to return the kittens first. I think they were a bit hasty on having them put down without at least asking to see if the woman knew or not, but it is a highly infectious disease, so it I can also see why they would have it done, if they felt it would spare the kittens later on. FeLV doesn’t live more than a few hours outside of the body, so if they were at your house at all, I’d wash things up a bit, but if not, as long as you washed your hands or anything you had that may have been in contact with them and brought home afterward (like a carrier, blanket, etc.), I’d get that washed up as well.

I think I’d probably just say to someone who wants a cat next time, here is the contact info and not play the middle man! What a headache! *HUGS*

As a thought, perhaps you could offer to go to a shelter that checks out their cats and kittens before they rehome them and get two for the family?

Oh, no, Drag0n! Hugs!

Drag0n, I am so sorry that you are going through this. Of course you feel bad because you are a very caring person. I would be sick about this as well. But the truth of the matter is: YOU DID NOTHING WRONG! The lady with the kittens should have had them tested but it is possible she didn’t have the money. The people who had the kittens had multiple options. They could have waited a few weeks and had them retested. While rare it is not unheard of for kittens to test positive then test negative (but this is a long shot). They could have returned the kittens. If they had no other cats they could have let these two live until they were symptomatic and then euthanized them. Although I completely understand why they didn’t. Since there are multiple kids involved it would be really hard to have them get even more attached to the kittens and then have to say goodbye. And yes, some cats do well when Felv positive but most have a life expectancy of less than two years. (FIV positive cats do live longer). And it depends on how the Felv manifests itself but some of the cats get really sick and suffer unless the people are really good about monitoring them. We don’t know if someone in that family ever lost a cat to Felv. I had a friend who lost a cat to it and she said she could NEVER go through that again because it broke her heart. And when she adopted a kitten a few years later and he tested positive she also euthanized him immediately. So basically this was a tragic situation where people with nothing but the best of intentions went and are going through he$$. It is very kind of you to want to pay the vet bill and if it will make you feel better you should but I don’t think it is your responsibility. I know this ended badly but please don’t let this stop you from helping out other animals. THAT would be truly tragic.

Awe man, that is just terrible news.
Pretty much what every one else has said.
In some areas it is a instant thing to put down kitties with that disease, especially wild ones.

To the lady taking care who was caring for the kittens…if she did not want to RISK the kittens getting killed at a vets office, SHE should have taken them to the vet to find out if they had clean health. Not try to hand out kittens and then complain when a family does the responsible thing of getting them checked out..only to find they had sick infected kittens.

For the family, this is sad…but really, I don’t think you owe them money. When you take kittens or a cat from some one.. especially found kittens that were abandoned by there mum, you are just taking a huge risk. You are taking a cat with no garuntee that it is healthy unless you ask the person. If you don’t ask and you are not getting the pet from a liscenced person, you really are putting your own self up the creek with out a paddle if the animals are sick.

In the end though, what ever is going to make your feel better is what you should do. This was a bad deal all around.

You were doing a good deed. It was not for you to have them tested, it was the original owner that should have had them checked and is the mother checked even?
If a kitten has Leuk or HIV, then it is best to put them down, unless they are in a solo cat household, and can make sure they never get out, an almost impossible task, especially with kids, and even then there is a good chance of them suffering.
I am upset with the lady that originally gave them to you. Why is she not having her litters checked (not that it would show on very young as the test can be unreliable) but is the mother. Also if she does not want kittens get the mother fixed, end of problems for all.
So sorry a good deed is getting a bad problem. It will pass hopefully in time. And consider it a lesson learned.

I agree with everyone, Drag0n. You are not at fault here. You are not responsible for others’ actions.

So the guy comes in this morning and tells me both the kittens are dead. They brought them to the vet first thing the next day to get checked out and they both had feline leukemia. $230 and 5 crying children later…

They chose (or the vet forced them) to euthanize. There are ALWAYS risks in taking in animals. You did not force their hands, you simply offered them free animals (which were not yours). You were simply a transport from one person to another. Also, you didn’t know the animals were sick. This happens, and it happens often. I have 4 dogs… three of them were heartworm positive when I took them in. Those three were my strays. That’s just the risk you take.

Now I call the woman to tell her what happened and now SHE is mad the kittens were put to sleep and not just given back to her if they were sick. I’m caught in the middle now and I just feel absolutely horrible for everyone involved and everyone is looking at me as if I am the one who owes everyone an explination. I don’t know what to do…

Even Shaun is mad at me and defending the woman asking why they put the kittens to sleep and didn’t just call us to take them back instead…

Ohhhhh, this is one thing that will light a fire under my butt. *normally quiet Bayoudragon will now be vocal!* If she’s rehoming animals, then she’s rehoming animals. Period. She does not get to decide what happens to them after that, as they are NO LONGER HERS (Kujacker, made this point while I was typing away…LOL). Actually, people can have a say… but it is either stated verbally or written in an adoption contract as to what is or is not allowed before the animal is transferred… If “X”, then I would like them back, etc. This is pretty standard in the adoption world.

We constantly get people wanting to drop off their animals at the nature center – constantly. I make it perfectly clear that they will have no say once they walk out the door. Many want their animals (that they no longer want to care for) to live happily at the nature center. Perfectly happy pets sometimes do not do well at a nature center, having their cages tapped on or being petted (um, violated) by hundreds of children. I will not torture an animal like this and will find them an appropriate home setting (or euthanized if they are given to me near death – yes, it’s happened). If they do not accept this condition, I will NOT take in the animal. You cannot have it both ways. They do not get to wipe their hands of care responsibility and tell someone else what to do with an animal that is no longer theirs.

I know this woman cared deeply for the animals, but sometimes loving emotions aren’t what animals need. If anything, it can cloud judgment. If she was so worried about the kittens, she should have taken them to the vet herself to see if they were actually healthy.

And one more thing… Shaun needs to support you right now, especially since he was the one who wanted to find them homes to begin with.

OK, I’m off my soapbox now. 😛

You have a big heart, Drag0n, major hugs! You are NOT at fault here. Don’t let anyone guilt you otherwise. (((HUGS!)))