1. Tanya said:

That lot must eat a tonne of food! Its so cool to see a photo of a whole bunch of them together

2. Chris Fonte said:

Hi. First, I want you to know that I’m not trying to be rude in any way, but since this is a public blog I wanted to share my opinion as well.

The thought of animals being wrongly treated, or abused, just appalls me. But this isn’t really the case with your story. Yes, a few would have been put down, but I think that would have been the best for this situation. I don’t condone “drowning” the animals, of course. I think there should be a limit to how many animals one can have though. In most states that is the case. It must smell terrible there, as Cats usually do have a bad smell when there are whole congregations of them together. Even when well taken care of. Your food & litter bill must be outrageous!

While my heart goes out to some who are really in a sticky situation, I don’t think it’s fair or right for people to expect or even to ask for others “help” in taking care of what’s obviously your own doing. You didn’t have to take in that many Cats, or let them breed. They should have been separated at the very least, or you could have told the original owners to sterilize them before bringing them in. You knew once it got to a certain number that you weren’t prepared or equipped to take care of all these animals, yet, you continued to bring them in. It’s up to you, not everyone else, to remedy the situation.

There are Pet Adoption agencies & Animal Shelters all over the world that could have taken in some of those Cats. In most cases, the Humane Society will sterilize the animal for free, or at a very low cost. You could have contacted some Animal Rights groups. They’re always looking to help poor animals with nowhere to go.

Your choice of words “if you can’t even give $5″, sounds a small bit condescending. “If you can’t even…” It makes it sound like we owe you a great deal for your generosity of dealing with so many Cats that you really can’t handle. I suggest taking out the word “even” & allowing it to say “If you can’t”.

These days though, it’s hard for most Humans to be able to afford “even” $5 for gas & food for themselves, let alone to give it to someone who can quite easily remove themselves from a situation, but just won’t do it.

3. eloisa said:

Hey Chris!

. We didn’t drowned cats. we saved some from being drowned, so that part of your comment confused me a bit.

. Just because we have many cats doens’t mean the place smells or that it is a mess. Maybe that would be true if they were kept indoors all the time and didn’t had such wide spaces to play in, like they do.
My mother spends 5 hours per day cleaning, she has a sort of “cleaning-mania” like you see in movies, where everything must be constantly tidy, so it’s never a mess like one could imagine in a place with many cats.

. I’m portuguese and I learned english on my own, I’m aware that there may be some language barriers, I assure you the phrase wasn’t suposed to sound condescending… in portuguese it sounds different, and I many times may write in english, but I think in portuguese… if that doesn’t make sense to you I’m sorry, but I can’t explain myself better.

. I’m contacting groups and societies over the internet. So far I have’t got an answer, tho. As for national places for cats (catterys?) we don’t have them in our area, and the nearest one is so full that they just euthanize the animals that go there, because they too can’t afford it anymore, in space and money.

. Actually, cat food here in Portugal isn’t that much expensive like it can be in ther countries. The litter, yes, it is…

. In the meantime, as anynone can read in the site, we are giving away the cats for adoption. So far we managed to give 2 to a sweet lady who lives in another city, but still close enough for us to be able to keep an eye on things…
So, you see, we are trying to remove ourselves from this situation. Only since the government doesn’t give money to those associtations (I know this because its what those associations tell me) they can’t help us, so we can only ask for help to everyone we contact with… so we’re doing things… slowly… but we’re doing it!

or would you like us to drown them all at once and voilá?

4. Jen said:

I am going to be honest, though my intention is not to be cruel. I have no sympathy for people who allow their pets to breed willy nilly, whether or NOT they can afford it. If you cannot afford to pay their vet for a simple operation, how’re you feeding FORTY FOUR cats? Okay, it’s nice you gave homeless animals a place to live. But if you turn around and let those pets breed, how is this solving the problem?

” There are more than 60 million homeless cats in the United States right now. Tiny kittens are found in dumpsters, junkyards, on the side of the road, and in the woods. These suffering, homeless little kittens would not be alone in the world, cold and hungry right now, if only some pet owners had taken the time to fix their cats. But because people didn’t have the money, the time, or the brains to get their cats neutered or spayed — too many kittens were born into the world with not enough homes to provide for them. If only people would fix their pets. Irresponsible pet owners go on allowing their cats to have babies, taking up space in homes that could have been used for cats who are already homeless.” (source: http://www.dumpstercats.org/Articles/WhySpay.htm)

How many more homeless pets could you have helped if you weren’t letting the ones you have breed like rabbits? I suggest you take a look at this blog: http://www.fuglyhorseofthedayblog.com/ and see what the same mentality is doing to horses in the equine industry. They’re ending up as food rather than being dying on the streets.

5. eloisa said:

That is very sad. and that is also what I’m trying to fix here. Back then, when it all started I was 12 and wasn’t aware of these things. Now I’m 22 and I am aware, and that’s why I’ve started this sort of fundraising, so we can spay/neuter those pets and end this in our lil corner of Portugal.

thank you

6. Sara said:

omg! too Chris Fonte: i’m not sure if i got you right, but it sounded like you said that the cats would have been better of dead. I hope that’s not the case. Would you have a human mother drown her kids if she couldn’t give them optimal lives? or would you have her try her very best to get help?
if not, then i don’t see why it’s ok with cats.

And too Jen: this person is trying her best to help these cats. would you rather she didn’t give them food or take them in? that wouldn’t have stopped the breading at all. it would have made it worse actually. these cats may not have optimal lives, but i’m willing to bet a whole lot that they have better lives now, than they would have if Eloise didn’t give a fuck and let them die on the streets.

and too Eloisa: i think your doing a great job. I agree with Jen that people should fix their cats, but that’s what your trying to do. and it’s great. don’t putt them too sleep.

too all: She’s trying you guys, and she care’s..

7. Namamuran said:

I think anybody who criticizes you has no idea what they are talking about.

Sure, you could have removed yourself from the situation.
But you chose not to, and I think that makes you a wonderful person.

It isn’t your fault you can’t stop them breeding. What Jen said is, down to the point, rude. You can’t stop them from breeding, even if you wanted to. The pills are thrown up, you can’t afford to neuter them (which is why you are asking for help) and separating them will not do anything either; it’s true, cats do have their own little groups when there is a big number of them, and they will just find a way to do it.

You have gievn them a home, medical treatment, love, care, warmth, food, which is more than many people can say for themselves.

I believe in you, I’ll start trying to convince my mum to let me donate some money towards your cats. I am a big cat lover myself.

8. eloisa said:

I’m speechless! The only words I can write right now are a huge: thank you! <3

9. Ana Vidazinha said:

Sabes que há outra solução sem ser os comprimidos?

Também existe a pílula em injectável, que deve ser dada de 6-6meses. E para a injecção tens duas hipóteses: ou tens de levar as gatas a uma clínica para aplicarem a injecção (o que geralmente não é muito caro mas para quem tem muitos animais acaba por ser) ou arranjas alguém que saiba dar injecções (ou aprendes) e nesse caso é possível usar 1/3 de uma seringa de Depo-provera (pílula injectável da farmácia) por cada gata.

Como com qualquer pílula não deve ser dada quando as gatas já estão em cio declarado, sob risco de criares as condições ideias para infecções do útero que podem ser graves e, se não tratadas, fatais.