Found very young kittens, may need help

HarleyQuinn said:
@mjh - I'm not blaming the staff for the record. I am sure they don't want to put every animals to sleep.
All I am saying is that who ever took the decision to end the life of these kitties, simply didn't want to take the time to threat them. Or at least try. Those kitties were only there for what 1 or 2 days ?? and BANG all 3 were put down to sleep In less than 72 hours. Not good

They don't just need to be treated for maggots. Among other things, they need to be bottle-fed around the clock (as you know). How many such very young kittens do you think they should take? How many do they already have? What's the chance of survival for already-sick kittens aged 1 week?

mjh said:

HarleyQuinn said:
@mjh - I'm not blaming the staff for the record. I am sure they don't want to put every animals to sleep.
All I am saying is that who ever took the decision to end the life of these kitties, simply didn't want to take the time to threat them. Or at least try. Those kitties were only there for what 1 or 2 days ?? and BANG all 3 were put down to sleep In less than 72 hours. Not good

They don't just need to be treated for maggots. Among other things, they need to be bottle-fed around the clock (as you know). How many such very young kittens do you think they should take? How many do they already have? What's the chance of survival for already-sick kittens aged 1 week?

If they are overloaded then don't take the kitties. Tell the person who brought in m to take them to another shelter (St Hubert's for ex.).

Plus isn't that there job to take care of feral kitties or dogs found in the street ?? Sick or not ??

And weren't they at least 2 weeks old? Either way kitties can survive with out mommy kitty,but yes it takes time and dedication. If they can't do it don't take them in.

spontaneous said:

HarleyQuinn said:
@mjh - I'm not blaming the staff for the record. I am sure they don't want to put every animals to sleep.
All I am saying is that who ever took the decision to end the life of these kitties, simply didn't want to take the time to threat them. Or at least try. Those kitties were only there for what 1 or 2 days ?? and BANG all 3 were put down to sleep In less than 72 hours. Not good

One or two days with no food or water if they weren't being nursed, so they were already dehydrated and malnurished. One or two days with no protection from the cold, especially at night when it has been super chilly. Maggots feed on dead and dying tissue, so there was most probably a sever health problem that lead to the infestation.

I asked the lady, what was the cause of death. She said "covered with maggots". She did not say dehydrated, malnourished etc etc. But Probably they were but that is no reason to put them down, just treated them.

I found a 2 weeks old kitty, and I took her to the vet. Shewasn't looking good. And they gave me antibiotics to give her and I had to buy kitty milk. I was her surrogate mom.

It's clearly not worth arguing about this.

From the description given by the OP they were probably closer to one week old.

I'm sure the shelter people are overworked and didn't have time to go over the kittens entire exam in the phone call. And remember, you are taking to a person at the desk, not the person who examined the kittens and made the decision.

Also, how bad was the maggot infestation. I've never even heard of this before, but googling it it seems that it can range from mild to very bad, and more often than not the maggots are hidden by fur so the initial appearance doesn't relay how far gone the infestation really is. Depending on the kittens size and overall condition a bad infestation of maggots may have been overwhelming.

I had a kitten who was abandoned at a Pet Smart when she was about 7 days old, one of the employees offered her to me and sucker that I am I took her. I bottle fed her, used wet cotton balls to make her poop, etc. She lived to be 17 years old. But I got her in otherwise perfect health. The sad fact is the with the described conditions these kittens were found in trying to save them would likely have just prolonged their suffering. Otherwise healthy kitten with maggots, probably has a chance. Malnourished and dehydrated week old kitten with no other issues, probably has a chance. These kittens sound like they just had too much stacked up against them.

So sorry to hear about what happened to the kittens. I am not a fan of AHS Newark and this doesn't change my mind about that either. Maybe the kittens couldn't have been saved, but AHS reported that last year 45% of the cats that came into its system were either killed, died or went missing. That's almost half of the cats that come in.

So they have one of the highest kill rates in New Jersey.

Yes, they have a high kill rate. Due mostly to the sheer overwhelming number of animals that come in. If they turned away animals they could have much lower numbers.

spontaneous said:
From the description given by the OP they were probably closer to one week old.
I'm sure the shelter people are overworked and didn't have time to go over the kittens entire exam. Also, how bad was the maggot infestation. I've never even heard of this before, but googling it it seems that it can range from mild to very bad, and more often than not the maggots are hidden by fur so the initial appearance doesn't relay how far gone the infestation really is. Depending on the kittens size and overall condition a bad infestation of maggots may have been overwhelming.

I'm with you on this .. Its just sad.

From the AHS page they take in about 15,000 animals a year. That is why they are a high kill shelter. Take any low or no kill shelter and give them 15,000 animals in one year and see how well they manage. Then next year give them another 15,000 animals. And next, and next, and next.

I've been to AHS to adopt pets. I've been there to look for a missing pet. It isn't pretty, but it is a reality they are stuck with because there are no other options. It is easier for a smaller town like Maplewood to find a small shelter to take in a few strays a month. But to criticize a shelter for putting down animals when they are overwhelmed with over 40 animals a day isn't looking at the problem realistically.

Even with adoptions, how many of the 15,000 animals a year would still be there if they were no kill. How large would their facility have to be. How large of a staff to responsibility handle all those animals. How much food.

And if they get full to capacity (this would happen in under a week if they became no-kill) and stop accepting admissions then where do the strays go then? These are not evil people, they are people stuck with an evil situation that is not of their making.

Just this week I called St Hubert's about some abandoned cats in our neighborhood. They were not interested in bringing the cats in because they feared they would not be adopted and would have to be euthanized. That would increase their kill ratio.

I don't blame them for being concerned about their statistics, but its the flip side of the Newark shelter. If you accept all the animals people bring in then your statistics are going to be abysmal.

As spontaneous pointed out, its an evil situation. If all animal owners were responsible and had their pets spayed or neutered, then shelters would not have these issues.

I'm sure that AHS Newark has a very daunting task in trying to care for all of the animals that go through its system, and I am sure that there are wonderful people there who are doing a great job despite the circumstances. And I hope that anyone looking for a pet will think of going there to find their best friend. One of my pets came from there.

But as spontaneous has pointed out, there is a real lack of capacity in the shelters in our area. Many people in South Orange-Maplewood are hoping that the former JAC building will be re-opened so that at least part of it will be used as a shelter for our animals, and one of the reasons people are for this is because of the lack of capacity in our regions shelters.

So if you would like to not lose any more shelter capacity, I urge you to let our local officials know, especially the South Orange Trustees since they will make the decision, that you are in favor of having a local animal shelter once again.

But hey, we don't need a shelter here, right, because our animal control situation is working just fine.

AHS is taking in so many animals because they are aggressively looking to contract with as many towns as will pay them. If they kill almost 50 animals a day, (their numbers not mine, told to me on the phone) they could contract with maybe 10 towns instead of 15. Their sales pitch is excellent, I watched it first hand at Maplewood's Town Hall meeting. And still towns who do not want a shelter in their town, yell for Regional Shelters. (How's that working in Helmetta?)

While we are trying to educate people, we need to provide for the homeless animals left in their wake.

As far as the poor folks who dread killing them, the shelter keeps no secret that killing goes on each day. You take the job knowing what you will be doing or you take a different job.

If the apologists would stop making them look like a decent option, people would stop going there with hopes that there may be a happy ending.

So then where would they go? Not to St Hubert's per an earlier post.

I'm sure St. Hubert's would take kittens. I had called about mature cats who had been living outside for a few months since they were abandoned, who are not as easily adoptable.

Scully said:
So then where would they go? Not to St Hubert's per an earlier post.

I'm guessing that Morganna is volunteering to take them all in, 40+ animal A DAY

Actually, Morganna has volunteered to take on the care of South Orange's stray and abandoned cats, at her own expense, if South Orange would provide her with a space where she could keep them.

While it wouldn't be 40 a day, it would help relieve pressure on the shelter capacity in our area.

But South Orange says it doesn't have any empty space to offer to her. Yet the former JAC building sits empty.

spontaneous, I know you care deeply for animals. It would be a big help to have a local shelter, using at least part of the former JAC building for that purpose. If you are in favor of this, and haven't yet told this to the South Orange Trustees, it would be wonderful if you did that.

EBennett said:
I'm sure St. Hubert's would take kittens. I had called about mature cats who had been living outside for a few months since they were abandoned, who are not as easily adoptable.

I'm sorry to hear that St. Hubert's wouldn't take the cats you called about. If you want to pm me, I will be happy to try St. Hubert's again or see if Furry Hearts can take them, if you haven't already tried FH.

I can say that a few days ago one of my neighbors took a mature cat that had been abandoned to St. Hubert's and they took it.

There would be no need to take in 45 animals per day if each town put together a little shelter or a few small towns worked together. Remember, please that the number comes from 15 different towns. The law requires that each town provide shelter arrangements and document and prove a minimum of a 7 day hold. Last year both South Orange and Maplewood added to that burden at AHS, there were other options. Now both towns could share a building instead of sending their animals elsewhere. Every animal was removed from that building over 1 year ago. And although I did not take on the task of 45 animals a day, I did place 47 cats in about 10 weeks, with a little help from my friends. It did not cost the town one cent. Nor did the sick cats I removed from 2 SO hoarding situations, so I'm always surprised when people don't at least try to think outside the cage. I think a great idea would be to have a showing of the film Redemption and then have a discussion. I just purchased the film and I am looking for a venue if anyone would be interested in viewing it. It discusses No Kill. I have another couple of similar DVDs from the ASPCA website that I had purchased to show my students.