DO NOT LIKE ( things me and the meows dislike)

Free Kittens !
That saying makes me angry, and worried. 

You see these ads for free kittens all over Kijiji, on Facebook, at the vets office, in the pet food stores, up on bulletin boards, and in the news paper.  This is false advertising.

There is no such thing as a free kitten.

There are however a crap load of irresponsible asshats who decide not to get their cat fixed, it gets pregnant and has a litter of kittens. 
They post an ad for 'Free Kittens'
They keep one because it's sooo cute. 

They don't get him fixed.
He mates with his mother, she has another litter of kittens. 

Last time it took awhile to find homes, this time they take them directly to the humane society and state that they found them. 

The Humane Society takes in these 5 kittens, treats them for worms and fleas then sticks them in a cage. 

The five kittens then go to the mall to be adopted. 
Someone adopts 2 of them. They take them home. 
The kittens start sneezing. 

The kittens have a viral infection. They all do. 
The Humane Society treats all of the kittens for this viral infection, including many other kittens that were around them. 

They can not take in cats in need because they have illness in their shelter. 
Animals get turned away.

Douche bags abandon animals.

A rescue finds a stray cat hiding in a shed. She has a litter of kittens. 

The rescue does not know where this animal came from because it was abandoned. They know it had a home because it is friendly. 

What they do not know is that this Momma cat belonged to a person who got her as a free kitten a year ago. 



Costs include - The treatments for all of the kittens for fleas and worms. Vaccinations for all of the kittens. Spay and neuter for all of the kittens. Medication for all of the kittens and the kittens that were in close proximity with them. 
That's just the Humane Society.

The rescue has all of those costs as well for the momma cat and kittens they found. 

That is just for their health. 

All of these animals need food and litter.

Think of how much you may spend on one kitten for 3 months of food and litter. Now multiply that by 5.

When you accept a 'Free Kitten' chances are you are helping some ignorant selfish person who did not want to pay to get their cat fixed.

There are exceptions to every rule - things happen, sometimes as humans we forget to think.
All you have to do is take responsibility for your action or inaction.

Get the animals fixed. Ask for help if you need it. 
Find them good homes by asking questions to people who are considering a kitten. 

Get the new owners to pay for the first vaccination ( an adoption fee that covers what you should have already spent for a vaccination)

The costs of the vet check , de-worming ,flea medication, and food up to that point is on you. You caused the need.

No it is not cheap. 
Maybe if you thought of that before thinking you can not afford to fix fluffy, you would not be in this situation right?


If you are looking for a kitten and see 'free kitten' and think wow what a great price. Free is awesome!

Nope - The chances that these kittens have seen a vet, been treated for worms or fleas is close to zero. 

A dewormer from the pet food store may not cut it. Probably wont because there are different types of worms or parasites that could be lurking in fluffy's tummy. 

They have been there for awhile so chances are they have some bowel issues. Fun. 

Fleas.. they suck. Read the dislike after this one. 

Vaccinations are not that expensive, but you have to add in the visit to the vets as well. That can range from 40 to 100 bucks! add the vaccination on top of that.

When they are old enough to be fixed.. and it is very important to do so! Seriously .. you need to. 
That can run from 200 to 400 bucks... 

I forgot to mention that Fluffy could have a few other issues but I will leave  that as a surprise.

So that's your free kitten. 

If you think that buying a kitten from a pet store is a better idea... You may be an idiot. 

Do I have to explain?
Fine.

The idiots who sell kittens get them from even bigger idiots who let their cats breed and breed. 


They charge 30 to 50 bucks and claim the have treated the fleas and worms.

Sure thing... maybe they gave them a dose of useless de-wormer they have on sale in their own store. 
They may have also given them a flea bath with some bottled poison they have on the shelf. 
When you take your more than likely sick kitten home and find worms and fleas, that would be why.

Adopt from a rescue or a shelter. The adoption fee ranges from 50 to 150 bucks.

In our rescue-
We actually give a shit. 
We do our very best to make sure our cats and kittens are healthy and happy. 
They are, or will be fixed when they come of age.
They have been vet checked more than once, they have their vaccinations including rabies. 
They have been treated for fleas by the vets, they have been treated for worms by the vets. 
They have had a stool test run to make sure there are no parasites lurking. 
We do not ignore illnesses. 
 
They are fed high quality food, and do our very best to stay informed on what foods provide the best nutrition for the animals in different stages of their lives. 

Most of all.. they are loved. 

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Flea Collars/Flea products available outside of a veterinary clinic - I highly dislike the use of these things, unless you put them into your vacuum. They are great inside your vacuum bags.

I just deleted a page of information that I had gathered because I can say what the problem is in one sentence.

They conducted a risk vs benefit analysis of these products, and benefit won.

Keep in mind they do not say animal risk vs benefit.
Keep in mind this is if the product is used exactly as labeled.
Keep in mind that this is a highly profitable product.

It's a gamble each time you use one.
You are risking your animals health based on what may be a very small % of benefit over risk.

Okay, so you hate flea collars? so how do we get rid of fleas.. they are itchy and bittey!!

All of the chemical filled flea killing products are bad, some are worse.

We have to do our own Risk vs Benefit analysis.
Then we have to reduce the risk as much as possible. 

How?

Buy your flea products from the vet!

They weigh your animal, they speak with you, they know your pet! They sell products with higher quality and hopefully higher standards

Think about something bad, like street drugs. All rather bad, but some are worse because to save  money on making the product, they cut the drug with bad stuff that is cheap.

So Hartz Flea Collars = Crystal Meth...actually more like Krokodil if you  have ever heard of that.

The vet stuff would be closer to Cocaine, still bad..but not as bad chemically ?

Have I confused you?

I started confused.

Say no to drugs, unless proscribed by a Doctor.

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 Meow Mix

But cat's ask for it by name!

Cat's eat tinsel

It's shiny



There are so many brands of cat foods available. 
Why would you feed your pet a cat food that is found in the dollar stores?

You are paying much less for the bag, but you go through it so much faster because there is very little actual food in it!

You probably are paying more for litter because this food contains so much crap that ...well so does your cat.

You may not be aware of the issues going on inside your pet because you lack the ability to actually see inside them.. as we all do. 

You may not know they are missing vital nutrients because the bag may say it contains all essential nutrients! 

Your cat loves it!

Yes we do.

Your cat may be a moron.

Hey!

Fine, you guys are super smart and know exactly which food you should eat.

Tinsel is shiny

Exactly.

The food is crap, you are feeding your pet crap because it's cheap. 
Cheap crap.

Say crap again

Crap.

The colour of the food alone should send up a red flag... look for brown. If you see red, back away from the kibble. 

I am not saying you have to go out and by the most expensive food out there. There are plenty of cat foods that are in the mid range of price that are fantastic. 

If you don't know what to buy then go into a Pet Food store.. not the grocery store!!! 
Go into a pet food store and ask them to show you 3 bags, the top the middle and the bottom. 

You could ask them why a product is good, or bad or in the middle. 
You could ask people in the store.. they have no vested interest in these brands, it's just what they think. 

The idea is to ask questions, get information. Be an informed pet parent. 

In the end the choice of course is yours. 
Who am I to judge on what you can or can not afford, but Meow Mix may cost the same as another brand that is better...just saying. 

Ask yourself this - when is the last time your cat brought home a cob of corn for dinner? 
Uhh... Meat! Cats need meat! they don't eat corn, its a filler.. it's not needed.



What about Mouse Mix?

They don't make that.

Next best thing? 

Treats and a mousey toy?

That will do.

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I will be adding more dislikes over time.