The mother has been caught and spayed and is doing great. Thanks for all the concern for the mother.

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another small circle completed with the trap and spay of the momma cat. Great job :o)
Kelly sure does bring up some points to ponder I have to agree with her and on the other hand if we all keep adding drops to the bucket it will eventually run over. Every liitle bit helps. All the work done may seem small when mentioned as a single act but put it all together and the results are huge.

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Being a somewhat "older" member of Best Friends, I can attest to immeasurable progress for the animals not only in the State of Utah, but nationwide. These changes take time, dedication, and tons of work. Thanks for being there Best Friends, and for never giving up in this forward march for these precious lives!! One of the most crucial elements is a positive attitude. Anger and disgust will not bring change.

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I agree with Kelly that it is disheartening to hear that in Kenab, things are still only at this point. Trapping the mom and getting her fixed should have been step 1 along with calling Best Friends.

And we need to be grateful and appreciative that Animal Control called Best Friends instead of euthanising the kitten!.
Isn't Animal Control a public agency that reports to the taxpayers? Alley Cat Allies has documented through a survey that US taxpayers prefer T-N-R to killing ferals. Apparently that information hasn't trickled down to Kenab.
I don't know what to say.
I realize that all these blurbs are just fundraising promos and not reality but this was just sad.

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Unless Animal Control or Best Friends also went and trapped the mom cat (not mentioned in the article), you have done little to help the overall situation because, as you know, the mom cat unfixed has already had another litter of kittens.

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morethan3 and tinkerbell9799 -

If you scroll down through the comments to June 12, you'll see that Shannon posted that they were trying to trap the mother cat and get her spayed.

Any update, Shannon?

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I can agree to a small extent with Kelly's comments regarding the seemingly insignificant victories made by animal welfare groups in the face of overwhelming cruelty. But her remarks lead me to believe that she has an answer that no one has yet come up with, and I, for one, would like to know what it is. In the meantime, I volunteer at Best Friends, I rescue local animals that need rescuing, I am active in the campaigns of many groups. In other words, I do what I can. So far this year I have been instrumental in saving the lives of 2 or 3 cats in my area. It was a lot of work, but the alternative was to use my energy to fuel anger at not being able to save them all. Granted, saving 2 or 3 cats is a drop in the bucket, but each of the many cats I've lived with over the years was 1 of perhaps 2 or 3 that someone saved, and I will be eternally grateful to them for doing so. I get physically sick when I hear stories of cruelty, but knowing of a few cats whose lives are better because of ME feels pretty good. Doesn't balance things out but it sure feels good. I, too, can say "something more has to be done", but since I don't know what that big "something more" is, I'll have to settle for believing that if I rescue just one more animal, they'll think I've done enough.

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You're right, Kelly4cats, the feel good stories don't solve the problem. But your negativity surely doesn't, either. In fact, I'm turned off every time you comment!

These stories show us what CAN be done and motivate some of us to continue doing our small parts toward ending the cruelty, neglect, abandonment, homelessness and institutionalized killing out there.

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KELLY4CATS
GEORGEBAILEY47

I STAND UP AND APPLAUD YOU BOTH!!!

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It is refreshing to see that there are animal control officers who actually work to SAVE Cats!

So many animal control officers work to murder them. The term "animal control" to them, means controlling the mythical "overpopulation" of cats and dogs, and these narrow minded, ignorant, arrogant humans see killing as a way of "controlling" the population (yet no amount of excuses can change the fact that they are wrong to kill).

That killing does NOT control the population, doesnt seem to matter to those stuck in the mud of the status quo world of speciesism and laziness.

Best Friends should start a nationwide Program that works with Animal Control officials in every city, or atleast in every major city, to focus their efforts on SAVING lives, instead of ending them. The work that Best Friends has done with Utah's animal control officials is fantastic. If they could work their magic on animal control officials all around the country, we could become a No-Kill nation rather quickly.

This undertaking would take the work of the Best Friends Network, but if Best Friends can come up with a way of showing animal control officials that saving lives should be the focus, rather than the nazi-like method of killing someone and dumping their bodies on the pile of other murdered innocents, I would gladly share the information with my local animal control officials (even though my local animal control officials rudely and arrogantly turned down the offer of the No-Kill Advocacy Center to come in and help them to stop the killing. They not only refused to listen to the ideas of the No-Kill Advocacy Center, but they were actually rude to them and made them aware of the fact that they didnt want them "intruding" on their set ways (of murder).

Sadly, some lost souls seem to CHOOSE to kill rather than to save.
It's all "cute and cuddly" to think that they are killing just because they ignorantly think that it's the "only way". But in many cases, this is not true. They know about the alternatives, and they DO NOT CARE. They would rather kill. Some are so bent on killing that they react with utter disdain to anyone who tries to enlighten them, educate them and help them to wash their hands of innocent blood.

This is a reality that we must face if we want to come up with a Program that works with the killers to stop the killing. If they REALLY wanted to stop the killing, they would have, or atleast would have made great strides in reducing the number of animals killed.

That many animal control officials do not make any strides in saving lives is due to the fact that THEY DO NOT CONSIDER CATS AND DOGS WORTH SAVING. To them, cats and dogs are like an old pair of shoes: disposable.
Dont let anyone tell you differently. This is a sad reality of life and we must face it if we are going to change it.

All living souls are equal..... all equally deserving of love and life. That is the reality. How we get the killers to live in that reality......that's the Million Dollar question. The one(s) who can answer it is/are the one(s) that wil make America a No-Kill nation.

http://www.nathanwinograd.com

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NYC Housing Authority wants to ban 3breeds of dogs and ones over 25 pounds. We should create pet friendly cities maybe that would help I know I would move to one!

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_319/publichousing.html

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In reality, before Dustin came on the scene, the Kanab Animal Control did not answer calls regarding cats or kittens and did not have the authority or means to care for cats. Therefore, previously the public were left to contact Best Friends or handle the situation themselves! Huge Kudos going out to Dustin as this community sees so much progress in the Police Department due to his efforts! Horray!!! Educating any community takes a lot of time and effort. Thanks Shelly!

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Thank You Bundy!!! You are Awesome!!! I Live to hear these great stories
Dann D

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I have a five year old former feral. Every year, she delights me with a new bit of trust and love. From not allowing me to touch her to sleeping beside my pillow and meowing for her "brushies", she has been a very rewarding pet. But ferals aren't for everyone. I'm so happy for every bit of education and every life that can be saved. >^..^<

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While I applaud the effort for the kittens, I did not understand why there was no attempt to rescue the mama cat. I feel bad that her kittens were taken away so quickly without her. She ran because she was scared and if she came back to the trailor, she discovered her kittens were gone! Just sad.

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Kudos to everyone responsible for getting CC and Ivory to sanctuary. And yes, much, much more remains to be done before we can congratulate ourselves or each other; but having said that, EVERY life is sacred and precious and I for one am very glad that these two sweet kittens are safe. Now we continue in the work of educating, saving, advocating and so on, each of us in whatever ways we are able.

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My fear Carrie, is not turning you off, it is us continuing down this same path and thinking these small victories are going to add up to real progress. These stories can motivate us and raise money for best friends, but it can also make a lot of people think we are getting to that day when there are "no more homeless pets". I see this goal as far off in the distance as it ever was. We need to do something more I don't think this makes me negative.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO MOMMA??? DID SHE EVER COME BACK??? SURELY SHE COULD HAVE BEEN TRAPPED AND BROUGHT TO BF ALSO???

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So the Kanab Animal Control, which is in the same city as Best Friends, does not have the means to even care for cats? People have had to either call BF or handle it themselves, which means what? Poisoning, drowning, just let them breed, what?

Best Friends just celebrated their 25th anniversary. What kind of progress have we actually made? More owned pets are now spayed and neutered. Ok, we have achieved this in the last quarter of a century, but what else? With the exception of a handful of shelters that have implemented Nathan's No Kill programs, most of them are either staying the same in terms of save and kill rates or are actually killing more animals than ever before. We can't even get a large county shelter in S. Ca to stop neglecting and abusing animals even though they have already been taken to court. Rescue people I talk to say they are seeing euthanasia rates skyrocket in S. Ca and I have the feeling all over the place we are losing whatever ground we have made over the years.

You can keep putting all the happy and feel good stories out there, an adoption event where lots of animals found homes (even though the local shelter there is still killing lots of dogs and cats), a city somewhere agreeing to accept TNR, a puppy mill or pet store being shut down somewhere, but these things are tiny victories, yes tiny when compared to the millions of animals that continue to die in shelters and on the street. Are these victories going to turn into something bigger or are we just going to continue to cheer about a feel good story here and there. I see a sobering reality that even with the exhaustive work we have done and sacrafices we have all made over the last twenty five years, people's attitudes towards homeless animals and their own pets have not changed as much as we had all hoped they would. Shelters are once again overflowing with abandoned dogs and cats who are the real victims of the economy, feral cats are being threatened and killed more now than ever before, the majority of shelters still will not even consider adopting more humane policies to reduce their euthanasia rates, most people are STILL not fixing cats they feed on the street and continue to allow them to multiply and die (it is est. less than 5% of feral/stray cats are fixed), we can't even ban the gas chamber for Christ's sake!!! And we have something new now, BSL which is enabling animal control to kill even more dogs and is spreading around the country. There is also an adoption ban of pit bulls in some cities. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our government is going to continue to use fear and hysteria so they can kill more owned pets and feral cats.

Twenty five years from now I don't want to be celebrating the same tiny victories. I want to look back and see REAL CHANGE that has taken place. No, not the change our president talks about, you know the guy who gave us his word about adopting a shelter dog. I mean real change that is going to make the death rates for animals in shelters and on the street plummet, make it safer for pit bulls and feral cats.

We have to keep encouraging ourselves but we can't be in denial either and think just because we read a story about something good happening somewhere we must be making real progress. Something more has to be done. Something more has to be done!!!

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Kelly4Cats - I know it is heartbreaking to know that so many animals are still being euthanized, but one by one animals are being saved - and that is a good thing. Educating the public that their pets are not throwaway is the key, but you can educate all you want - there are people who just don't care. But there are so many wonderful people helping animals, and I see more and more join in every single day. So - don't give up hope - we all do what we can, and some day in the future - there will be no more homeless pets!

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Oh, good for CC and Ivory! Hopefully their momma can be saved, too. It takes special people to appreciate feral cats, so kudos to Bundy and BF! It seems like there are so many ferals to be saved and very few people willing to help, but having had a small feral colony myself, even saving the ones you can make a big difference! Keep caring about the ferals!

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Two of my three kitties were born feral. One took years but he is now a big hunk of love, the other warmed up to me right away, both are the most well mannered kitties, tidy with their litter box, never scratch me or the furniture, etc. If only I could say the same as my "tame" little girl kitty!

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To Kelly4cats.....

I don't know how things are in S. Ca but I can tell you that the message from Best Friends has had far reaching and lasting effects. I live in Mobile, Alabama which as everyone knows has the tendency to be backwards when it comes to animal welfare. Our City shelter is proud to boast their 'no healthy deaths policy' - I can't tell you how much of a difference this has made. It may be a small step but at least it was in the right direction...if Alabama can do it, anyone can!

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Sorry for sounding negative but this just goes to show how little progress we have made with helping ferals. It's the year 2009, how many decades have animal control agencies been killing millions of feral cats and kittens, and a few are now just getting around to working with rescue groups? This happened in Kanab, the same town as Best Friends and the animal control there is still killing feral cats and kittens? I find it very depressing this partnership should have happened a long, long time ago. I guess in fifteen years from now we will be killing 10% fewer animals than we do now, at this rate.

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Part of the California Governer's plan to save money is to reduce or eliminate the mandatory holding time for animals in shelters. Since the shelters are already overflowing, this will make it very difficult for owners of missing pets to locate and rescue their pets in time, make it harder for rescue groups to remove animals from the shelters, and result in many more animals being killed. We seem to be going backwards!

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Great day for those two kittens but what about the momma cat? Did anybody trap her? Should have put a set trap in front of the carrier with the kittens in it. The momma cat would have walked into the trap thinking she could walk right into the carrier to be with her kittens.

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Hi, this is Shannon, we are working on trapping the Momma cat and getting her fixed asap.

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They'll settle down -- it will just take some time and effort. I've been doing the feral trip for 20 years -- and adopted 3 born-frees myself. They most often respond to slow, small steps. But the one thing none of them ever got used to was being picked up off the ground -- or the couch! Snuggle-bugs, loved being brushed, wanted attention and petting. Just keep those feet on something solid!

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