Cats or possums?

Ronda Rich's picture

You may recall past columns where I wrote of my friend, Stevie, who rescues distressed possums, and then influenced me to do the same when I found an injured possum on my front porch.

I wrote of that experience, noting how sweet the possum was and how Stevie and I should start a non-profit for the preservation of possums.

For what it’s worth now, I was kidding.

But a producer of a big London television show read the article and rang me up. “We’d like to come to America and film you and your friend on a possum rescue,” he chirped in that beautiful clipped accent of the Brits.

My mouth dropped, I pulled the receiver from my ear and gawked unbelievingly at it. Finally, I found words. “You’re joking, right?”

“No,” he replied quite seriously. “We believe it would be quite entertaining. Quite charming, really.”

When Stevie learned of the offer, she said, quite puzzled, “But how could we do that? We never know when we’re going to find a possum to rescue.”

I rolled my eyes. “I was joking. We are not starting a non-profit for the preservation of possums.”

That is probably how I turned to kitten rescue. It seemed more natural. Dixie Dew and I were walking one evening when she discovered a half-starved kitten in a drain pipe. The little thing was pitiful, having been dumped and left to die.

I’m not a cat person, but I went home, got food and returned to feed it. Then next, its sister showed up and I wound up with two starving kittens. For weeks, I fed and nursed them back to health. When I was out of town, I sent someone in my place.

From Stevie, I had learned about feral cats, those that are wild and can’t be tamed to the human touch. Of course, I sought her advice on what to do. She is, after all, the protector of any rejected and dejected animals.

“I keep tellin’ y’all that you’re asking for heartache,” her husband tells us. He’s right. We’re always getting our hearts hurt over their pain. When they rescued a hawk that had been impaled on something and then he died after days of veterinary care, the family cried all day.

“Should I leave them in the drain pipe?” I asked.

“No!” she exclaimed. “They need a home. They can’t live like that.”

I made numerous calls, asking folks to take them in but no takers. I was getting ready to go out of town for a week and I was really worrying how they would survive. We had bonded and these kittens gradually allowed my touch, letting me pick them up for a few seconds.

To make a long, winding story short – though you didn’t think I was capable of curtailing a story – I brought them to my house to live outside.

“You’ll need to earn your room and board by killing snakes and rats,” I instructed them.

It has not been easy. One scratched me and caused a troublesome sore that became cat scratch fever. I have to diligently divide yard time between them and a disgruntled Dixie Dew who wants them to return to the drain pipe. When I’m gone, I have to arrange for care-taking.

And, on top of that, spaying is expensive. I called one humane society to see how much it would cost to fix two rescued cats – which, by the way, I had kept out of a shelter even though I’m not a cat person – and was told, “Sorry. We only offer low-cost spaying for low income families.”

“Will it be cheaper to just bring you all the kittens they have?” She didn’t think that was funny. Neither do I.

That’s why I’m leaving cat rescue and going back to possums.

Possums are much easier.

[Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of “What Southern Women Know About Flirting” and “The Town That Came A-Courtin’.” She lives near Gainesville, Ga. Sign up for her newsletter at www.rondarich.com.]

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simpleton's picture
Submitted by simpleton on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 10:35am.

The west mobile vet did a great job with my cat. They come around the Kroger parking lot (on 54) every other week. I think I paid sixty bucks to have my cat spayed. I'm not a cat person, either, but I was hesitant to take my poor animal to the back of a van for a surgical procedure. Still, I was impressed with the particular vet who cared for my cat.

And Bonkers, what do you think about the curtailing of the story? Do you think it looks okay as it is, or should she have taken it to a French tailor?


Submitted by Bonkers on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 7:47am.

The way I see it is that if you find a cat and aren't willing to keep it yourself---leave it alone, or call the pound people. Just as you might a dog who is loose.
Long ago I determined what made people "carry on" over poor little, or big. animals, but cared little for mistreated children of the world--that is, do anything about it.
I know you can haul a.. anytime with an animal, but not a kid or kids, but that doesn't excuse turning them loose on the rest of us--even at night to use our property!
We used outside cats on a big farm to kill corn crib rats! That is all.

TonyF's picture
Submitted by TonyF on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 8:18am.

This post is short, sweet and to the point. Well written and said. So, who the he77 are you? You're certainly not Bonkers. Identity theft is a crime.

"Your, yore, you're all idiots." (T.Floyd)


Submitted by athens_jim on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 7:10am.

The cats are more likely to eat songbirds & chipmunks than snakes & rats. Also, outdoor cats (depending on where you live) are more likely to be eaten by coyotes or run over by cars. Why have people foresaken their local shelter? Find a cat, trap a cat, get it to a shelter. THAT is what we pay taxes for. Cats do not belong outside, and feeding feral cats just allows them to breed and hunt more successfully. Feeding feral cats is perpetuating the problem. In one study, an area with feral cats had more house mice and norway rats than an area without feral cats. I know that sounds crazy, but the cat food put out by well-meaning individuals actually brought in the vermin. Think twice before feeding feral cats. At least you had the responsibility to bring them to your own property. SO many people think it's perfectly okay to start cat feeding stations on OTHER people's properties.

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