The cats start to stir as we pass Sacramento. A series of shrill meows warn us the kitty-Quaaludes were beginning to wear off; they have persuaded us to stop for the night. Like all children, our cat's demand to know when we will finally arrive. After hours of driving, they are anxious to climb from their carriers and stretch. The sign at the motel reads,"Positively No Pets;" one by one, we smuggle our six cats and litter boxes into our room. The next morning, we leave before dawn, and drive to our new Oregon home.
A surly-looking old man meets us on our arrival, throwing rocks at a small, scared cat. He is the same man who repeatedly scolds us for feeding the apartment's feral cat colony. In fact, he continually steals the their food and water bowls. I dread seeing him, and the sound of his voice hissing at a cat to scat. But I am determined he will not get the best of me - or the cats - and I wage war against him, surreptitiously. Little does he know I am not only feeding the cats, but trapping, altering and releasing them as well, taking in the kittens and finding them new homes. At one point, including my own six "foundlings" from various trails and alleys on the southern California coast, we had twelve cats in our one room apartment, including two litters of kittens which needed round-the-clock feeding and care. And just months after we arrived, we found Bingo, the half-wild wolf dog, combing the streets of downtown Portland.
Thus began our Northwest mission as ambassadors to the four-legged, furry and forlorn. Ours is an ongoing mission, multiplying with each new litter or stray animal found. However, becoming involved in Portland's massive feral cat problem is nothing I have planned; it just happened, like an earthquake or an unwanted pregnancy. People ask me skeptically, sometimes sneering, or with amusement, why I like so many cats, as if I really want to live with so many other creatures, in such a small house, like an indigent family with too small a space to share. Few understand that I don't really want six or seven cats; I really don't want six or seven children, either. My answer is always the same: if I don't take them in, who will? An orphanage for the abused, the abandoned, and the unwanted, our home is a refuge for dogs and cats, discarded like empty pop cans on the side of a road. For our constant stream of foster children, we provide food, shelter, and veterinary care until an excellent, more permanent home is found.
During our two years in Portland, I have trapped and released over fifty feral cats, and placed countless strays and kittens in loving, new homes. In addition to our indoor brood, our backyard is home to several feral cats rescued from wood piles and apartment parking lots. Trapped, vaccinated and altered, these cats are saved from short, miserable lives or routine roundups to animal control. Our door is always open. And anyone who says saving one stray cat doesn't make a difference, hasn't seen my happy, healthy cats! Margaret Mead, the renowned anthropologist, said it best: "Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has."
In Portland, as in all cities, the tragedy of abandoned and feral cats has reached an all-time high. Sometimes, thinking of my own growing brood at home, I want to turn away as a solitary alley cat scrounges through a neighborhood dumpster, or at the sight of a litter of kittens under a bush. Fortunately, it's only momentary; pet overpopulation is a tragedy to which I can't feign blindness. Like acid rain or landfills, it's everywhere.
In the seventies, it was common to find kittens and puppies free from cardboard boxes in the front of supermarkets. As a child, I brought home dozens of these small creatures, always optimistic my parents would magically permit me a pet, episodes which always ended with tears, as I was immediately forced to find them new homes. Even then, I was overwhelmed and saddened that people could carelessly give these animals away, to passers-by in parking lots, like tickets or loose change. By taking them home, I saved them, from uncertain fates and probable cruelties. They were not out of my reach, like the thousands of cows up the California interstate, destined to be just another Big Mac with special sauce. This heightened sensitivity has shaped my life, leading me into actions others find crazy, like rescuing a frightened dog off the freeway, or trapping wild cats.
Now, when compassion calls, no one can tell me to "get rid of" the dogs and cats I bring home, although sometimes the money I spend on Portland's stray and feral cats is overwhelming and beyond our means. We are living off student loans, as my husband and I are both pursuing graduate degrees, and our combined income falls below the federal poverty level. Yet the animals I see are much more needy than we. My husband, Richard, understands this, and lovingly cleans the litterboxes.
Macheesmo, our most recent addition, is a cat named for the restaurant dumpster he once called home. Filthy, scared, and covered with abscesses, we coaxed him from underneath an old car, and even received a hefty discount on our dinner that night, in exchange for bringing Macheesmo to his new home.
Whether they stay a week, six months, or six years, cats like Macheesmo find food, warmth and care within the walls of our small home. Because we feel our work is blessed, we fail to let petty little concerns like landlords hinder our rescue and relief efforts. This doesn't mean we shout from the rooftops that we live with umpteen cats and a dog in a dwelling which doesn't permit pets.The safety and security of our rescues is foremost, and sometimes requires a bit of imagination.
Recently, our landlord called to announce she was on her way over. In a frenzy, we gathered our litter to the cramped quarters of the bathroom, where I sat with them, distributing cat treats to keep the peace. My husband coughed loudly to signal her arrival, and I immediately turned on the shower full force, hoping to drown out the chorus of meows through a mock shower and more treats. Fortunately, she did not stay long.
Currently, we share our home with seven cats and our dog, Bingo. We feed several neighborhood strays, including our released feral friends, never saying no to an animal in need. We have committed our lives to working to alleviate just a little of the suffering inflicted on the innocent by human apathy, ignorance and cruelty. I have big dreams for the future: large-scale, no-kill rescue ranches and animal sanctuaries, extensive international spay-neuter organizations and humane education programs. But for now, within the walls of our small rented home, we run our own shelter, surviving on our own meager incomes and the occasional contribution of others.
This is increasingly becoming more difficult. Every week, someone brings another kitten to my door, or I receive another emergency call concerning another dog or cat in need of help. Although our doors are never closed, my bank account sometimes is, and VISA won't up my credit line for vet bills. Or cat food. In order to continue our work, we need help; be it through food donations, pet supplies, contributions for spaying and neutering, or by sponsoring or adopting a needy dog or cat. Our mission has grown so much, it is sometimes difficult to handle it all.
Each year, tens of millions of companion animals are impounded and destroyed, sold to laboratories, or abandoned on city streets. For this reason, the over-population of companion animals has become my biggest battle. According to Ingrid Newkirk, in Saving the Animals, 101 Things You Can Do, of the more than 56 million cats in the United States today, up to 25 million of them are homeless. An unspayed female cat and her kittens can be responsible for 48 more cats in just sixteen months; and one unaltered female dog and her pups can result in the birth of 4, 372 more dogs in seven years. Concerned animal lovers must unite. We must work together, joining hands to help the dogs and cats humankind has domesticated, and sadly abandoned.
Please contact us if you can help in any way,