Help Rescue Cats

No address of facility
No last names
East Toledo given as general area
No qualifications listed
No background information given at all

Sounds a little shabby. Sorry, I'll give my animal donation to Humane Ohio. They have all the above listed on their website.

Isn't there a poster here at Toledo Talk who vouches for this "Forgotten Felines" person/organization? If I recall correctly, it is run by a family member of the TT poster. Or perhaps I am confusing a few different threads/situations with one another.

Personally I sort of feel that if the cat's paw is still bleeding, he is still living outside, has a fever, the paw is impossible to keep clean and the organization cannot afford the surgery or the tests required prior to surgery, then this cat is not being properly cared for and quite likely is in pain or at least discomfort. I appreciate a soft heart -- oh boy, do I! -- and the desire to do good for animals. I appreciate that a person or a small bunch of people want to fashion themselves a small rescue organization. Lord knows we need more people to look out for homeless cats and dogs! However, in this case it seems that this person or small bunch of people might want to consider that in this situation, they are in over their head(s) and this cat needs to be surrendered to an organization that can properly vet the cat or humanely euthanize him.

I saw the pictures of the injured foot. It looks pretty bad, enough to cause suffering. Remember that dogs and cats won't often show that they are in pain -- that is considered a sign of weakness in the animal kingdom, which would make them vulnerable to predators.

Yes, I believe that this is starling02's daughter. (Not violating anyone's privacy - starling herself has linked the same website with a description of what her daughter has been doing.)

I understand why hockeyfan would be skeptical of anyone asking for donations that were not going to a known rescue group. But, in this case, I believe she is legitimate. Seems like I remember seeing a link to a local news story about her efforts before.

If I recall correctly, she has started rescuing cats in her own home, because so many of the other rescue groups are already full. In that case, I can't really blame her for not putting her address on the website. (There's a phone number listed...presumably so they can screen potential adopters before giving directions to the house.) :)

That would be my daughter who runs "Forgotten Felines". Her & her boyfriend started this website to try to find homes for the stray cats they take in (1 - 3 at a time is all they are able to accomodate & pay for at one time). They get each one vet checked, neutered, get vaccinated - and they spend time socializing the cats so they are able to learn each cat's quirks, so as best be able to place them in a good home (some cats dont do well with kids, some hate other cats, etc.). She does NOT include her address on that website because people tend to think that they can just dump off strays (or their own cats). They don't have a lot of money & do not have the room available to take in too many strays at one time. They use one room as a quarantine room - until it is vet checked for feline aids, leukemia, etc. so as to not infect their own cats who also live in the house. It's also not a very big house to begin with.

They are careful about who they adopt the cats out to, to best insure that the cats aren't returned to them after the fact. They get attached to those cats & want them in good homes. The $30 re-homing fee they charge when they adopt out a cat is for a reason.
1 - It more insures that the people want the cat for the right reason (as opposed to selling it to a lab or to creepy people who like to torture animals). It enures that the people who adopt are serious & will take care of the cat properly.
2 - The re-homing fee helps to pay the vet bills & for the food. This injured cat she's asking for donations for - they've already spent over $50 just to have the injured foot looked at by the vet & the antibiotics it's on. The cat still has to go back to the vet for possible surgery, it's shots, checked for feline aids & leukemia, and neutered. That visit will be about $120 at least - for a stray. They pay out of their OWN pocket & the re-homing fees barely cover the vet bills.

They started working with strays simply because there's so many where they moved to & Paws & Whiskers, Humane Society - Ohio, etc. - do NOT take in stray cats anymore. Paws & Whiskers is a group of people who foster cats - to absorb the overflow that the Humane Society can't handle. The Humane Society tells you straight out when you take a stray in, that it WILL be put to sleep - no other option, they simply don't have enough room & staff to deal with so many strays.

"Forgotten Felines" was born out of a need to want to help - it fills a gap that Paws & Whiskers & the Humane Society do not fill. They are small & do not have the funds or space to have a lot of strays just dropped off at their door - which is exactly what would happen if they included their street address on the website. As it is, they get calls all the time from people wanting them to take litters of their kittens off their hands.

"Forgotten Felines" is NOT shabby or seedy. They are very careful & take all precautions to help as many strays as they can. Unfortunately - not all strays are adoptable, or will get adopted - some are just too feral. But they still make sure those cats are vet checked & neutered before releasing them outside again. This is far more than most people would bother to do.

At any rate - this poor cat she's asking for donations for - any little bit will help, even if it's only a couple of dollars. (their vet suggested that they put up a pay pal link on the website for donations.) It's heartbreaking. Take a minute to check the website out & look at that cat's mangled foot. He's on antibiotics, but he's in pain & may need a couple of stitches. My daughter hopes to be able to get this cat in to be helped before it gets so bad it will lose the foot entirely. They've been fortunate that they found an excellent vet who gives them discounted vet costs - only because they are strays. I can get the name of the vet if anybody cares to check this out. (I can't recall it just this minute).

If you go to the website - to the right of the page, click on the cat's name "Tuxedo Bob". It will show you what cat they are asking for help for, and it's mangled foot.

Instead of waiting for the money for Tuxedo Bob, maybe he should be euthanized. It could take quite a while to get enough money to get him properly treated and with a wound like that, being outside and exposed to other potentially diseased cats could defeat the purpose of trying to help in the first place.

Operating something like a shelter out of a home is a recipe for disaster. Once the location gets out, there will be litters dropped off.

Best of luck to them, but I think they are in over their heads.

I've heard from a few people that Tuxedo Bob should be euthanized just so he doesn't have to suffer anymore pain. I have quite a bit of experience dealing w/cats in all situations and I understand a great deal about cat psychology. Tuxedo Bobs foot does cause him pain, but not to the extent that he'd be better off dead. He has a ferocious appetite, plenty of energy, and the pain doesn't stop him from jumping all over us in excitement for affection. Animals do hide their pain for the sake of survival, but they're usually lethargic and have a decrease in appetite and they never let you clean them up like he lets me. My main concern is for his overall health. Tuxedo Bobs fever is symptomatic of the infection, for which he is receiving antibiotics. His gums are returning to a healthy shade of pink, meaning the fever is subsiding.
My vet, Country Squire, wanted to try antibiotics before surgery b/c it is better off healing in the open air than it would be if she had sewn it shut. That is why I said it's uncertain if he will need surgery yet. She agreed that he would be fine being outside for now so long as he would be getting his meds, which of course he is. So your real concerns regarding whether or not he should keep his life is that he has to stay outside for now. We can not bring a bleeding cat inside w/o knowing if he has FIV or FELV and I don't think spending a few more days outside is an offense worse than death. But rest assured that he doesn't leave the yard, we keep a close watch on both him and his paw, the bleeding has almost completely stopped, and we're not leaving him out there much longer. Honestly, come hell or high water, we will find a way to take care of his next vet bill, and we will do it before it would be considered inhumane. Why I asked for donations is I hoped we wouldn't even have to wait.
We are not a shelter, we're just a couple of people who have seen cats thrown out like garbage and we're still not seeing anyone else taking responsibility for them. We are very careful not to get in over our heads, and not just b/c we couldn't afford it, but b/c it wouldn't be healthy or fair to our own cats or the ones we foster.
I appreciate your concerns about Tuxedo Bob, but in this situation, he is better off alive. At the beginning of the summer, I tried to catch an injured cat just so I could have him put to sleep. We care a lot about stray cats, but we're not blinded by it. We understand when it's more than we can handle and trust me, Tuxedo Bob would have been put down if I thought it was best for him.
We are still accepting donations for him. His foot is looking better, but it's still too soon to tell. He has a vet appointment coming up, here is my estimate w/o surgery: $29 for the vet visit, $10 for the dewormer, $40 for the FIV/FELV/HW test, and $15 for flea meds = $94. Surgery will be to lance it, drain it, and sew it up. Still not sure what that will cost. Our vets estimate of $118 did not include the flea meds or the heartworm test, both of which are a must, and we don't know if he has an intestinal infection {another $20 to fix}. Sometimes the cats have it, sometimes they don't.
And no, we can not put our address on the website. We'd probably be swimming in kittens by now if we had done that. Not that I don't like the thought of swimming in kittens, but I'm sure we're better off.

It only stands to reason that those in the situation to rescue cats should get some informal training on how to deal effectively with such wounds and infections. Literally, DO IT YOURSELF. You're going to be doing it over and over anyway, and that will save you huge amounts of money, which can be put to other uses ... like real surgery, food and heat.

Also then you don't have to subject yourselves to the SCAM of requiring all those shots that vets insist on. They are ONLY doing that for the money and to avoid alleged liability.

Then again, none of the animal-rescue people I've known had a lick of sense.

I believe with all of my years of experience, I do have informal training. Not everything can be fixed at home however. I can not purchase antibiotics w/o a vet, nor could I even dream of getting my hands on the anesthesia needed to preform surgery. I don't know how much experience you have w/cats, but I would imagine anyone w/a lick of sense could determine the outcome of cutting open a cat's paw while they're conscious.

We are also not getting scammed by our vet. We test our cats for a few diseases to ensure the safety of all our cats. The diseases we check for are not rarities among felines. I know cats w/feline leukemia and cats who are FIV positive, and I know how that affects their health and how expensive it can be. We do not vaccinate our cats and we don't do this for a few reasons. 1. They have all had homes in the past, this is evident in their behavior and socialization. Not knowing the last time they were vaccinated and knowing the risks of over-vaccination makes me weary of giving them more shots. 2. When we bring them in, they are to remain indoor cats for life. Indoor cats don't run much of a risk of getting disease. And 3. If we were to get them all of their shots, it would run us twice as much as we currently afford and would take us twice as long to help less cats than we currently do.

Normally, we stagger our fosters so we can afford them. Will we be doing it over and over again? It's possible, but other than Tuxedo Bob, we've managed. Tell you what, if you find a hurt cat that needs surgery, you cut them open w/o anesthetics and let me know how that goes for you. Then you can surrender your maimed cat to me and I'll get them some real medical attention. It's funny when those that preach we need more sense are the same people who are lacking it themselves.

I also recall reading a story about Forgotten Felines in a newspaper. It was earlier this year, so this might be it: http://www.presspublications.com/from-the-press/2229-east-toledoans-start-web-site-to-help-stray-cats
I give Gulch and Combs a lot of credit trying to help abandoned or injured cats, then rehoming them for a very small fee. If people would just spay and neuter their pets, Gulch and Combs - as well as all the rescue groups - wouldn't have to be scraping for funds to help these poor creatures. And it's getting worse, with many pet owners abandoning their pets as a result of the poor economy. Tuxedo Bob's paw looks pretty bad, but it sounds like Gulch and Combs are monitoring him carefully to make sure he's making some progress. Country Squire is very good and has reasonable rates, according to posters on this site. Hope all goes well.