A meow for help from afar...

Surely there is a humane society of sorts in Cedar Rapids. It is up to them to coordinate efforts to stop the boarding or, as any of us would do, find a way to open up discrete exits for the cats in the already boarded houses, humanely trap and remove them, etc.

Iowa humane societies should contact the nationwide orgs like PETA, HSUS, etc to call attention to the problem, because if they are willing to help, they need people on the ground in Iowa, not in Kansas or Texas. They should also contact those who own the land and the structures and suggest a better more humane solution. Lawyer up, etc.

So, the first step is to find out what animal organizations are there in Cedar Rapids and statewide Iowa, and what they are doing to handle this problem. The fact is that no action from outside can be as effective as anything done at the local level. Politicians, being the culprits for stupid actions (like boarding houses) and idiotic laws ... will listen only to those who can vote them in and out of office.

It's never ending, isn't it? Someone from Italy who had been forwarded one of my "animal appeals" sent me an email yesterday saying that people like me who waste time on animals when there are so many hungry children in the world are pathetic. We've all heard that argument at protests, etc. I decided to reply, for the fun of it, telling him that I have no use for children because 9 out of 10 turn out to be like him, so one can only hope they will die of disease, starvation, or run over by oxen. As for the 1 in a million -- a person like me -- those are worth saving. Then I asked him how many children he had saved. I also told him to learn better English. Very therapeutic.

Let me know if the Cedarapideans want us to help somehow. XOXOXO Dolores

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Anyone watching the Weather Channel this morning?  They just had a piece about Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the aftermath of last year's record flood, when the Mississippi left its banks.  Flood waters were up to the rafters of hundred of houses in town.

Well, it seems that now, 16 months later, due to complaints from the citizens, the city fathers are boarding up a lot of the houses that haven't been rebuilt.  They've done 200 so far.  The catch is, as you may have guessed, feral cats have been living in these abandoned houses since last year.  They're living on rats.  So, the city is springing into action to seal up these places so that the rats and the cats and the odors will go away.  As all of us animal lovers know, feral kitties don't just catch a city bus to leave where they've been living.  They HIDE inside.  Needless to say, many of these poor creatures are no doubt being sealed up in these tombs.  Even Heather Tesch, the pretty meteorologist on the Weather Channel, commented on this tragedy.

Once, many years ago, FOF took in a beautiful long-haired brown tabby girl who had been locked up in an apartment for weeks and weeks.  She was brain-damaged by the time she was found, but, to our amazement, she lived and was eventually adopted by a loving family who fostered her.  She was never "right," though.

Just think of the suffering these trapped cats will endure before they finally expire.

Any ideas how we can help?  Do you think writing letters to the Cedar Rapids newspaper would help?  Contact PETA?  HSUS? 

I'm feeling pretty helpless here in Kansas.  Help!

XOXO

Leslie