Don't throw away your cat like trash

It takes a special kind of a person to abuse, neglect or - even worse - abandoned and dispose of their family pet for whatever reason. These are domesticated animals that can't survive in the wild. When a pet is forced to fend for itself outdoors, it usually will die from exposure or an accident. Some of these felines that have lived as a family pet for many years are suddenly disposed of and some have even been declawed, so they have no way to defend themselves from other wild animals and end up starving to death.

We never anticipated having to care for and try to find homes for so many of these cats that people have either lost or abandoned.

When "Humphrey" a neutered and declawed male cat was first found along side a country road west of Elgin the first part of September, he was at first thought to be a possible lost cat. He appeared at one time to have been a big cat but was now just skin and bones and near starvation. Upon placing him in caring arms, he struggled to purr as if to thank us for rescuing him. The animal shelters refused to take him. We have reason to believe that this was not a lost cat after all, that someone had just discarded him rather than deal with his medical problems. He acquired his name in honor of one of the vets who provided some of his medical care.

Even though we had spent close to $1,000 to try to save his life, we had no idea how old he was or how long he had even been out there without any food. I'm sorry to have to tell you that on Nov. 8 we had to make the decision to put our little fellow to rest, and he still purred up until the end.

In all my years of rescuing these animals, Humphrey was the most wonderful cat I have ever come across. That made this all the harder to endure, and I just wonder how someone could just dispose of this animal as if they would their garbage.

We are a local nonprofit organization that consists of a small group of people who volunteer our time and money because we believe animals deserve protection against the wrongs of abandonment, starvation, disease and cruelty. This is the tragic reality of life for countless innocent creatures.

Finally, we have received several calls from people in the Fox Valley who tell us they've been told that they are not allowed to feed feral cats. When I called Kane County Animal Control about this I was told that if you feed these cats then they are considered legally yours. Maybe law enforcement should go after the people who trap and kill these animals rather than those who show compassion for them. To support our organization, you can reach us at P.O. Box 595, South Elgin, IL 60177.

Carol J. Schultz

Guardian Angels Feline Rescue

South Elgin