I just got a message from a friend. She is upset. Turns out her ex-stepdad took the family cat to the humane society. The cat kept peeing outside of the box. But he wasn't smart enough to take the cat to the vet to find out why.

Only the problem continued. Turned out to be the air conditioning and not the cat at all. So he went back to get his cat back. THE NEXT DAY! Only they had already put the cat to sleep and just gave him money.

It used to be that the reason the Humane Society was called 'humane' was because they didn't put animals to sleep. I understand that they have crowding issues now and can't hold to that value anymore. But they really need to drop the name now.

People still associate it with not putting animals to sleep. But one day is a joke. That just seems wrong.

If he told them the cat was a pee'er, they might have figured it wouldn't be good to adopt out.

Doesn't mean that it totally doesn't suck, but I don't know.

That is awful. Also, when people decide they don't want their pets anymore because they think they're not tiny and cute anymore, or because they just want a different one.

the Humane Society is swamped with too many cats. They dont have much choice

I was just reading that in most cities they are catching hundreds of wild feral cats a day. And have no choice but to put em down

its a shame they did it so quick

But he shouldnt have taken it to them in the first place and then thought he could go get it back

I agree change that name. There is nothing humane by taking the life of anything that lives. There are always choices.

You must also consider the increase in the animals going into "shelters". Most shelters are donation run. The shelter must judge "adoptable" pets to problem pets.(ones with issues)
While I am sorry for your friend. But, it shows a problem on your friends part.

People feed stray cats where I live.

Is this humane society that U speak of equivalent to what we call the animal shelter where I live?If so they have a 30 day rule that they stand by while seeking adoption before euthanizing any animal unless there's a health risk or serious injury.That is awful btw.Humane society hey?What a farce.

Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year:
6-8 million (HSUS estimate)

Number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year:
3-4 million (HSUS estimate)

Number of cats and dogs adopted from shelters each year:
3-4 million (HSUS estimate)

Number of cats and dogs reclaimed by owners from shelters each year:
Between 600,000 and 750,000—30 percent of dogs and 2-5 percent of cats entering shelters (HSUS estimate)

Number of animal shelters in the United States:
Between 4,000 and 6,000 (HSUS estimate)

Percentage of dogs in shelters who are purebred:
25 percent (HSUS estimate)

Average number of litters a fertile cat can produce in one year: 3

Average number of kittens in a feline litter: 4-6

Average number of litters a fertile dog can produce in one year: 2

Average number of puppies in a canine litter: 6-10

Unless otherwise indicated, statistics provided by The National Council on Pet Population, Study and Policy.

I agree that he was stupid and should have gone to the vet to find out if something was wrong first. Something that could be fixed.

And I understand the issues that face the organization.

But the organization no longer reflects the values that it did in the past. Yet they still portray themselves that way. And because of that, people still think they represent the 'no kill' values they built themselves on.

I think that they are falsely representing themselves now. Hence the title of this thread.

I am sorry...That is soooo sad I feel so bad for the cat

the Humane Society exists completely on contributions.

They don't have the resources to take care of 3 to 4 million cats a year. If they only had to deal with people's house cats they wouldnt be so covered up but there are millions of wild cats roaming that people expect them to take care of too


the strategy they are using now is TNR, Trap Neuter and Return. But there is a lot of controversy over that too


http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/08/18/news/doc4a8a683c0743b179969404.txt

http://tritown.gmnews.com/news/2009/0903/letters/010.html

Okay, way back when, they were on the oposite side of things. Trying to adopt out the pets. But, they must follow a budget.
But, now they must deal with more owners who have no clue.

Of our five animals, the one dog we got from a shelter, the rabbit we took from a friend, the other dog was abandoned-my son found him, one cat we found as a stray, and the other cat kind of adopted us...the people that moved out down the street just left him.

I know it's hard without funds, but they need to find a way to lower at least the cost of neutering/spaying them, that would allow for more people to have their pets taken care of, and in turn alleviate the poplulation problem a little.