dog fighting ring

Saving Flower Part 2: Forever Home Needed

/ rachelgoes262 / 3 Comments

Flower was used as bait by a dog fighting ring. I have been very clear about that from day one. Some people have inquired about adopting Flower. I tell them she was used as bait by a dog fighting ring, tell them about her injuries, mobility issues and medical needs. People then proceed to ask me if she is okay with dogs?

I will no longer answer that question. This cat was brutally injured by dogs on purpose, then thrown out like trash. They either thought she was dead or just threw her out to die from her injuries. You think she can live with dogs? I taught pre-school for 15 years and always said there was no such thing as a stupid question. I stand corrected. 

Now that Flower has been with me for two months as a foster, I have learned some things about her needs for a forever home and want to provide an update. Many people have asked. It is disheartening for me to detail things to people only to have them ask questions like “is she okay with dogs?” 

If you intend to make a serious inquiry to adopt Flower, then you need to read all of this and be very clear about her needs. Do not waste my time with questions about things like dogs that I have clearly stated from day one: NO DOGS. 

I don’t mean to be rude, but she deserves the BEST POSSIBLE forever home with ALL THE LOVE. This cat has been to HELL and back.

I never intended to foster. I am one person with three house cats of my own. I have a disability, I work full-time, and I experience continual and repeated criminal harassment from my neighbors that results in physical injury. Taking on Flower has been a challenge for me with everything else I am facing. It is very difficult for me to keep everyone safe with the way the neighbors behave. I have zero regrets about helping her. But I also don’t have spoons to deal with stupidity. 

I am not an official foster. When I contacted the shelter to report her injury, they said they were full. They would not help. I trapped her and got her to medical care. The shelter is not offering any support or advice or help to find her a forever home. They are full and overwhelmed. Their attitude was to shrug and say, “oh well.” We do not have any humane charities here that responds to injured animals. I have no regrets about trapping her or helping her. I truly believe that if she was outside for another winter, she would have seized up with the arthritis and froze to death, unable to move to reach the insulated cat shelters I provide. 

Back to Flower’s needs:

Flower needs to be adopted by an experienced cat person. However, she needs to be the ONLY PET in the home. She would be perfect for someone who may have lost a furbaby and is ready to love again. 

Flower has been here for two months. My house cats have been completely welcoming and accommodating. None of my house cats have hissed, growled, or in any way acted aggressively to Flower. They either ignore her completely or approach slowly in a questioning manner. 

Flower is terrified of my house cats. She was bullied by other cats outside. Due to her mobility issues, Flower cannot defend herself. Her only ways of defense are to hide and to hiss. Flower hisses and growls at my house cats. She is afraid of them. Even when they are ignoring her and pass by as a normal course of their day, she is scared. 

It would not be fair to Flower to have to share her forever home with another pet when she is clearly scared of other cats. We all know cat introductions are a long and tedious process to be sure they are done right. As I’ve said, Flower has been here two months with no aggression from my house cats. She sees them through a screen door. Yet she is terrified when the pass by. 

Flower should be with someone home a lot. A retired person or WFH home would be great. She loves attention and would flourish where she can be the center of attention.

To interact with Flower, you need to get on the floor. 

Flower cannot jump or climb. I have provided pet steps. They are too much for her. Her forever home may want to consider a ramp to see if that is an option. 

She may want to sit in your lap, but she cannot physically get there. You need to pick her up, put her on your lap, and put her back down. For safety reasons, I do this when sitting on the floor in case she gets scared or wants to leave my lap. If I am sitting on the floor, she has only a few inches down and won’t get hurt like she would a fall from a chair or couch.

Her interactions:

Flower cowers. She has been with me for two months now and still hides in her box. She does enjoy her morning treats (second breakfast). She will approach for treats. She is very intelligent and recognizes the treat bag. Once she has her treats, she returns to her box.

I do put the treats in a trail to get her to leave her room and praise her and give pets. She always returns to her box after treats. 

If you hold your hand out for her to investigate, she will headbutt your hand when she wants pets. She likes head scritches. Sometimes she will lick your hand. 

She does not walk around while I am in the room.

She very rarely will eat in front of me except for treats.

I have given her full access to the upstairs of my house to explore. She very rarely leaves her room. She prefers to stay in her safe space.

She requires a lot of patience. She saw me outside for 6 years feeding her and talking to her. It took her 6 years to go into the trap for help. She has been here for two months and still has not come out of her shell. 

We had a visitor two weeks ago. She was terrified and hid. This is a cat who will hide for several weeks or months. She will not come up to you. Cats like Flower sit in shelters forever before adopted because they are scared. Cats like Flower are euthanized in shelters.

Flower’s preference is to sit next to you while you pet her, and she purrs. 

Flower does not play with toys, probably due to her medical issues. She does have a few stuffies she likes to cuddle. Her stuffies, blankets, carrier, cat bed, etc. will go with her to her forever home. 

Her injuries and mobility:

Flower is at least 12 years old, estimated by the vet. The vet’s exact words for her are “geriatric special needs.”  She was in a home for the first 5 years of her life before she was kicked out, used as bait, and then outside for 6 years before I could trap her. For more on being used as bait, read part one.

Her dental health in general is good. She is missing one upper canine. 

Her entire pelvis was crushed. This is why she cannot jump or climb. She can run. 

She has a stub tail. It is unknown at this point why. She does wag her tail when you pet her and when she is happy.

She had severe injuries to her right arm and arthritis has set in. The entire reason why I trapped her was because she was limping. She needs extra heat. She has a heat disc I heat for her twice a day and put in her cat bed that will go with her to her forever home.

You need to keep an eye on her movements for any limping. She will need further treatment for that injury. It is unclear at this time if the vet can do something for the arthritis or if there is a possibility she would need to be a tripod. Any adopter needs to keep an eye on her for limping and be prepared for ongoing medical needs if she needs arthritis injections/treatment or potential surgery. 

Her eating and toileting: 

Due to her injuries and mobility issues, Flower’s food and water dishes should be elevated. I have a pet shelf that is being used for this purpose. It will go with her to her forever home. 

She eats and drinks normally. She is on a schedule for breakfast. 

She is not on a set schedule for dinner yet. We are still working on that.

She toilets normally. Be aware that due to her mobility issues, she should have a cat pan with a low step-in / step-out. You should consider one of the cat pans for senior cats or even for kittens to meet her needs. 

She does groom herself but also needs help. She is not physically able to use cat scratchers either vertical or horizontal – both have been provided. You will need to keep up on keeping her nails trimmed. She does not like her nails trimmed. I am working with her on this – trying to pet paws to get used to being handled, etc. Please be aware she may bite you when you cut her nails because she does not like it. This is the only time she has ever shown any aggression.

Flower allows all pets and handling. It is very easy to put her in a carrier for transport. The vet office was surprised at how easy she was to handle. This cat is NOT feral and never was. She is severely traumatized. She cooperated with the vet visit much more than expected and they were able to do a lot. 

This is the most submissive cat I have ever seen, and I used to volunteer in a shelter. 

My Thoughts

I’m not going to lie. This is hard for me emotionally. I want to keep Flower. I wish I could keep Flower. I cannot keep her and it breaks my heart. Flower needs a forever home and it’s not mine. There are three reasons I can’t keep her:

  1. Flower needs to be the only pet in a home. It is not fair to Flower for her to live here permanently when she is obviously scared of other cats. (It’s also very hard on me and the house cats to have her separated).
  2. I can’t keep them all safe. We have been physically injured by the neighbors since I reported the dog fighting ring. Battery is not a crime in NYS. Read more about the dog fighting ring in part one. Bottom line, the neighbor attacks are ongoing and continuous. I struggle to keep myself and my three house cats safe. Basically, I can’t. We have been physically injured by the neighbors and needed medical care twice. There is no way I can keep Flower safe too. The local government and sheriff department refuse to do anything about the criminal harassment we are experiencing. I have experienced retaliation for complaining.
  3. We are living in an ongoing pandemic. I am one of the ones that is supposed to “fall by the wayside.” I have had medical professionals and multiple people in the community tell me to my face that I need to hurry up and die already. I don’t want to die. I love being alive. Specifically, I need to outlive my cats to keep them all together. You have heard of bonded duos. I truly have a bonded trio with my house cats. There is no way I can take on a 4th. I very much worry about what will happen to my cats if something happens to me. 

Flower needs a forever home where she will be loved and cherished like she deserves. She should be in an experienced cat home that can meet her needs. She needs to be an only pet as she is so scared of other cats. Finding her a forever home is like finding a needle in a haystack. I have no shelter, rescue or anyone helping with this.

Combine that with the fact I am immune compromised and have a disability that impacts my driving. No, I cannot drive hours for her to meet you. I can do about an hour drive on a good way. I am willing to try to coordinate transport for her to a forever home. It will be challenging. 

I can tell you right now a “meet and greet” with Flower will fail spectacularly. She will be terrified and hide. She may hide from you for weeks or months when you adopt her. Are you prepared for that? Or are you going to get frustrated, kick her out, give her back or give her up to be killed? 

She needs a forever home with someone with A LOT of patience who is prepared to take on a cat who has experienced severe abuse at the hands of humans and has trust issues. She has ongoing medical needs. 

Flower needs a very special retirement home. 

Since it is just me helping her, any potential adopters will be very thoroughly vetted. Expect to have multiple conversations and provide references. Every single human has let this cat down. I am not going to let her down. I am doing everything I can to set her up for success in a forever home. 

Please also understand how hard this is for me. I never fostered before. I was shocked when the shelter said they would not help an injured animal. I couldn’t just turn away. I had to help. I trapped her. I’m giving her a home right now, but this is not the best for her permanently. 

I would love to keep her, but I truly believe based on her behavior, she needs to be in an only pet home. Part of me still has hope she will relax and stop hissing at my house cats and accept them, but the reality is, she fears them, no matter how friendly and welcoming they are. Flower would be most comfortable as an only pet. 

I am very attached to her. Every cat I have ever adopted has been for life. Fostering is hard. I did not expect this. I thought the shelter would take her when I reported her injured. I have no regrets about helping her, but this is hard. I love her so much, but I know I am not the best forever home for her. 

I am open to SERIOUS inquiries for a forever home for her. If you have made it this far, thank you for caring enough to read. 

Saving Flower (Dog Fighting Ring Bait Survivor) Part One

/ rachelgoes262 / 3 Comments

Flower has been mentioned in this blog on and off for the past six years. For the most recent post about Flower, see Last Stray Surviving. For more background about the active dog fighting ring and how I found out about it, see Clare’s Story. 

The dog fighting ring has been reported, but nothing is being done about it. The SPCA and the Sheriff Department state that it brings in too much money. People bet on dog fighting. When asked about the cat used as bait for the dog fighting ring, both the SPCA and the Sheriff’s Department have said, verbatim, “cats don’t feel pain.” This is how they justify animal abuse. Of course, this is false. Cats do feel pain. 

The local SPCA fired their humane officer and is set to close. While they have not publicly admitted it, I am wondering if this is due to their inaction about the dog fighting ring. I did not know there was a dog fighting ring here until I found a spray-painted cat (see Clare’s Story) taking refuge on my front porch. Since Clare, I have trapped and gotten four cats to rescue. 

Flower is the last cat in this area to help. As described in Last Stray Surviving, Flower had lived in the house next door. The dog was taken for neglect and Flower was kicked out of the house, as the local SPCA does not care about the welfare of cats. Those neighbors have since moved. Flower has been on her own outside since being kicked out of her home. 

She often takes refuge in my garage where I provide food, water, and insulated cat shelters to try to help the cats trying to evade being used as bait for the dog fighting ring. Members of the dog fighting ring often cruise throughout the village saying “here kitty, kitty” trying to trap their next victim. 

A few years ago, I saw that Flower had been spray painted and had a broken front arm. She had been used as bait for the dog fighting ring. I tried to trap her to get her medical care. I was unsuccessful. I have trapped and gotten four other cats to rescue. It was always whoever went into the trap was rescued. Flower never went into the trap.

In addition to the SPCA that is closing and says, “cats don’t feel pain,” there is a small non-profit cat rescue in my area that is run completely by volunteers. It is the rescue from which Simon was adopted. They are the rescue that helped me with three of the cats I trapped. In fact, it is that small non-profit rescue who told me that cats were spray-painted when they are being used as bait for dog fighting rings. I never would have known there was a dog fighting ring here if not for that first spray-painted cat. 

Anytime I trapped a cat to take to rescue was when this small cat shelter had room. They know I am trying to help the cats here escape the dog fighting ring so they are not used as bait. They would say they had a space. I would set the trap. Whoever went into the trap went to rescue. 

The fourth cat, Kenny, was super friendly and young. She was one of two kittens that had been thrown out of a pickup truck here. I was worried about her being easy to pick up as bait for the dog fighting ring. The small rescue here that had taken the other three cats was full. Through the power of Cats of Twitter, I was able to trap Kenny and get her to a rescue about three hours away from me. She is now in a loving forever home.

Flower is the only stray left.

Every time I walk into my kitchen, I look out the window for Flower. When it rains, I see her taking refuge in my garage. I take fresh food and water out to the garage every morning. Flower hides under my car. I talk to her. We have been doing this for six years. Over time, she has gradually let me get closer to her, but did not allow touching yet.

About two weeks ago, I looked out the window, and Flower was noticeably limping. She was favoring her front right arm. She was struggling to run, which is a bad sign when there is a dog fighting ring looking for bait.

I contacted the small shelter that helped me with the other cats. They are full. They do not respond to injured cats. The SPCA that is closing is responsible for responding to injured animals. Their response? “It’s fine. She’ll adapt.”  They also indicated that if they sent out a deputy that Flower would be shot as a mercy killing for an injured animal. 

This cat should not be shot and killed. This cat needs help.

So Flower limped along and everyone in this neighborhood smiled and nodded seeing an animal in pain. The neighbors around me love seeing people and animals in pain. If you read my other posts about the attacks and physical injuries the neighbors have inflicted on me and my house cats, you know they are sadists.

Call me stupid, but seeing an animal in pain is very distressing to me. I could not just watch her limp and do nothing.

So even though the rescue is full and won’t take her, I set the trap. Flower is injured and needs medical care.

I honestly did not expect to trap her. I have not been able to trap her for six years. I was not able to trap her when she had visible broken bones after being used as bait for the dog fighting ring.

I must have caught every cat in the village in my live trap. Of course, I released them all. Some even had collars. No wonder I’ve been going through so much cat food for the outside cats! I’ve been feeding every outside cat in the village. 

Trapping is very hard on me physically due to my disability. I said that after day five, I would stop trapping. I haven’t been able to trap Flower for six years. If I couldn’t get her now after five days, I would stop.

When the trap was set for those five days, the only food dish in the garage was inside the trap. I was literally starving her out. If she wanted food to eat, she needed to go into the trap. I know I am Flower’s only food source. I see her every day.

It was about lunchtime on day five when my security camera picked up Flower sneaking into the garage. Those days when they trap was set, Flower did not come around much. She gets overwhelmed with a lot of other cats, and there was so many cats coming to the garage for food and going into the trap instead!

I waited a bit and went into the garage on the afternoon of day five. Flower was in the trap!

I quickly brought her into my basement where I have a dog cage set up with cat pan, food, water, blankets, etc that I use when I trap cats. The cats I have trapped have stayed with me anywhere from 2-7 days depending on when I can coordinate transfer to the rescue, so that is where Flower went. 

The day I caught Flower was a Sunday afternoon. I called the vet office first thing Monday morning and was able to get her in to be seen Monday afternoon due to her injuries.

The shelter is full. I never would have trapped a cat with the shelter being full except this cat is injured. I only trapped her because she is injured and needs help. 

For the record, the shelter will no longer respond to me. They will not help with any advice or support for fostering, they are not helping to find her a home. Nothing. I am 100% responsible for helping this injured cat. I am responsible for her medical bills, care, fostering and trying to find her an appropriate forever home. I did the right thing and have no regrets, but way to shit on a person for doing the right thing. I’ve been completely abandoned by the shelter that had been helping me with the cats being used as bait for the dog fighting ring because they are full.

I cannot take on a fourth cat for multiple reasons. I cannot do this long term.

Here is what is happening with Flower medically and her status:

I am fostering her until I can find her an appropriate forever home. 

Right now, I am so overwhelmed with her care, my three house cats, working full time, and just life, that I don’t have enough spoons to find her a forever home. I need help. This is a lot of time and energy for someone who struggles with their every day. 

I was correct that Flower is the cat from the house next door that was kicked out and those people moved years ago. I thought she was about 7 years old. The vet said she is at least 12 years old. She is geriatric. She is a spayed female. Well, they confirmed female. They did not shave her to look for the tattoo for the spay, but there have not been any kittens. Based on what one of the children told me before they moved, I’m pretty sure she is spayed. 

She is riddled with fleas. They gave her flea treatment, worm treatments, rabies vaccine, distemper, etc. 

Flower is very gentle and sweet. She allows pets. She did extremely well with all handling at the vet office. They said they can’t handle feral cats how they handled her – this cat is NOT feral! 

She just needs love and patience. They were able to do more for her than expected. We were there for a long time and it totally put the vet schedule off because they were able to do so much with her. She even behaved better than Jude when he goes to the vet.

They said her teeth are ok. She is missing an upper canine tooth. 

They did a blood test for feline leukemia and feline AIDS. Both test came back negative.

She does not have a microchip. I told them I thought she would scan to the house next door, but there is no microchip.

They gave her medication at the vet office for her injuries. She ate it in baby food. They sent me home with medication to give her the next 3 days.

Injuries —

She has injuries to her hind legs up into her pelvis. The vet thinks these are old injuries. The limp I am seeing is that there is an injury to her right elbow. Again, the vet thinks this is an old injury. What it looks like is one dog attacked her hind end and the other one grabbed her right arm. 

Anyways, the vet says that they are old injuries, however, the injury to the right elbow is what is causing the limp I am seeing and caught on video. She thinks that arthritis has set in, given her age, living outside and the weather getting colder. 

Flower needs to be kept in an inside home. She will need a home that can handle a geriatric special needs cat and will need additional care to more properly ascertain the extent of her injuries and how to make her comfortable.

For now, she has pain medication and is fine in the dog cage with movement restricted. I did heat up the heat disc I had been using for her outside and put that in with her. I am trying to provide her with as much extra warmth as possible for arthritis. She is still hiding in the cat pan, which is normal behavior the first few days after trapping. She is traumatized with the whole situation.

The vet office does not normally help to find animals homes. That’s not what they do. However, now that they have examined her and see she is a geriatric special needs cat, they are going to try to help see if they can help me figure something out.

I am thinking that her issues are basically going to be mobility issues given her injuries, but I’m not 100% certain. At some point, she will need full blood testing for kidneys, thyroid, etc. 

So, Flower is currently with me as a foster situation. For those of you who follow us on Twitter (and now Bluesky), I have been posting an Evening Foster Flower update daily. She has been with me for about a week now. 

This obviously is an ongoing issue, which is why this is part one. Flower was injured. The shelter was going to euthanize her. I trapped her and got her medical care.

She will need a very special forever home who can handle a special needs geriatric cat who is completely traumatized from being used as a bait cat.

Despite her horrible life, Flower is a sweet and loving cat. She is very submissive and allows all handling. She will need a patient home with a lot of love. 

Now that Flower has been trapped, I am no longer putting food and water out in my garage for the outside cats. Many of the cats who were in the trap had collars. They are not homeless. I am leaving the insulated cat shelters for anyone who needs them.

Yes, we have an active dog fighting ring here that is still looking for bait. I have now trapped and helped five cats’ escape. I can’t do any more. Especially now that I am fostering Flower, I just can’t help anymore. I am surprised and dismayed that there is no help for injured animals here. If you find an injured animal, you are 100% responsible for it. I do not regret getting Flower medical care, but trying to foster a fourth cat is very, very hard. 

When Flower needs further medical care, I will probably set up a GFM for help. The extent of her medical issues is not yet known. This is going to be ongoing. Her initial vet visit was for the arm injury, vaccines, etc. 

I will need help finding her an appropriate forever home. I am trying to think about what that looks like, the process for finding her a home and vetting a home. Right now I am so overwhelmed with the day to day. 

The good news is, I no longer must worry about outside cats. I had been worried that if my house cats and I need to evacuate our home due to imminent risk of physical injuries from neighbor attacks, that I would not be able to help the outside cats. Now that Flower has been trapped, I only must worry about keeping everyone safe who is under my roof.

The neighbors are an ongoing problem and continue to threaten our safety daily. 

Flower needs a forever home. I can’t keep her. Right now I am focusing on the health and safety of everyone in this house.

So this is part one of Flower’s story. I’m sure there will be a part two, as she needs a forever home that can meet her needs. I cannot keep myself and four cats safe from the attacks from the neighbors. 

Clare’s Story

/ rachelgoes262 / Leave a comment
Clare is the cat that started all the neighbor drama. I had seen her briefly throughout the fall and winter of 2021. I figured she was homeless. Who in their right mind would let an indoor/outdoor cat outside in weather that was 20 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit)? No one. Seeing Clare outside is what prompted me to start providing insulated cat shelters to try to help her until I could figure out what to do.
 
I do know there are some “community cats.” There is the concept of trap-neuter-release. I do understand TNR on some level, but at the same time, I strongly feel that every cat deserves a loving home. It is not their fault they are homeless and on the streets. I also am strongly against animal cruelty. If I see an animal in pain or distress, I am going to do what I can to help.
 
One day in winter (now 2022), Clare appeared on my front porch and appeared to have been spray painted green. It was honestly hard to tell against the backdrop of the green outside carpet on my porch. However, when I saw Clare outside against the white of snow, it was obvious she was spray painted green. Why? Why would someone spray paint a cat? To me, this seemed strange. It also felt like animal abuse to me. Cats should not be spray painted. In addition to being spray painted green, Clare appeared to have injuries to her back end that were difficult to see from a distance, but obvious when she was walking.
 
Locally, our SPCA and Sheriff Department have the authority to investigate and respond to animal cruelty cases. I reached out to the SPCA and explained the situation to them. I let them know that Clare appeared to be injured on her back end and should receive medical care. The SPCA told me that the injuries and spray painting were all normal for outside cats and that “she would adapt.” After all, the person laughed, “cats don’t feel pain.”
 
As a cat mom of over 20 years, I found this to be alarming. Cats do feel pain. There was something wrong with this situation. I started to research how to trap outside cats so that I could catch Clare and get her medical attention. I also started calling around to all other animal shelters and rescues within a 50-mile radius. Many told me that I was out of their area. Shelters only cover a certain geographic area – typically the county in which they are located. 
 
Then I happened to remember that there is a second cat shelter in my county that is a small, private non-profit. I reached out to them and explained the situation. The people at this rescue were appalled at the situation. They explained to me that cats are typically spray painted when they are used as bait for dog fighting rings. It is rare to find spray painted cats, as they are almost always killed as part of the dog fighting ring. However, finding a spray-painted cat is a clear indication that there is an active dog fighting ring in the area.
 
The non-profit rescue (called SNAP) lent me a humane trap and worked with me to trap Clare. They took her in, got her medical care, and she became part of their rescue. The veterinarians who volunteer their time and services there confirmed that her injuries were consistent with being used as bait in a dog fighting ring, and that there were other, older injuries present as well.
 
After getting Clare to rescue, I started to notice other outside cats hanging around that seemed homeless. Almost all of them appeared with injuries to their back ends like what I had seen on Clare.
 
I reached out to SNAP again. Since taking Clare into rescue, they have taken an additional four cats from me that I have been able to trap. They have given them all medical care and they have been adopted into loving homes. One older cat, Tom, is even called the King of Main Street! He lives on Main Street with his owner and looks out the window at everyone walking by. People like to wave at him. His owner says he is the perfect lap cat. 
 
For everyone says that “Community cats” should be left outside in colonies as part of TNR, I respectfully disagree. 
 
There are now two cats left. Flower was kicked out from the house next door and they have since moved. I estimate Flower to be at least 6-7 years old. All the times I have set the traps for outside cats, I have yet to catch Flower. It has always been whichever cat ends up in the trap is the one that goes to rescue. Flower has never gone into the trap. I wish she would.
 
A few years ago, she showed up with a broken front leg one winter. I still could not trap her to get her medical care. 
 
A small dark tabby has appeared this summer. I call him Crosby. He is cross-eyed and has the same injuries to his back end that were seen on Clare and all of the others. Crosby is young – he is playful as a kitten. He chases squirrels and leaves. I estimate him to be one year old at most.
 
Flower and Crosby are the last two cats remaining to trap and get to safety. The problem is that SNAP is full. They have been full for a year now. All the local shelters are full. 
 
SNAP knows that Flower and Crosby are here. They know there is a dog fighting ring. However, they cannot take either Crosby or Flower due to no space.
 
Since my interaction with the SPCA, a few things have happened on the dog fighting ring front. First, it was in the news this summer that the SPCA fired their humane officer and is in danger of closing. They did not give explicit details, but I am wondering if it has anything to do with the refusal to look into the dog fighting ring or active involvement.
 
The second thing is that I had an interaction with the Sheriff department last year regarding animal cruelty. The officer accused me of lying. They said that it is no big deal because “cats don’t feel pain.” They used that exact phrase. It’s the same phrase the SPCA used when I had called them originally to report a spray-painted cat with injuries. 
 
“Cats don’t feel pain,” is the exact phrase that law enforcement is using to justify animal cruelty. 
 
SNAP knows that Flower and Crosby are here and will let me know when they have space to take one of them. When they do have space, I will set the live trap. Whoever goes into the live trap goes to rescue. 
 
The challenge is that SNAP has been full and does not show signs of having space any time soon. 
 
I am willing to trap either Flower or Crosby to get them to a loving home if I can find someone to take one or both that is trustworthy. The challenges with that are: one, finding someone willing to take one of them and two, properly vetting any potential person would provide a safe home. We are already dealing with a dog fighting ring here. I don’t want Flower or Crosby to go to a home where they will be abused, tortured or murdered. 
 
Given the abuse we have been experiencing with the neighbors since June 2023, we may have to move. If we do move, I want to get Flower and Crosby off the streets before we leave this house. Even if we do not leave this house, I want to get Flower and Crosby off the streets. But if we need to move for our own safety, then it will lend even more urgency to getting Flower and Crosby to safety. 
 
I am not going to leave this house and leave them behind to fend for themselves. My garage is a place of refuge for them where they get fresh food and water every day and there are insulated cat shelters to help them survive winter.
 
For Flower specifically, based on how I see her act outside, I think she would do best in a home that does not have a lot of other cats. Flower is okay with Crosby. However, she seems to get overwhelmed if there are a lot of other cats around. Flower would be okay as an only or with one other cat who was not aggressive. She is very shy. That brings a challenge also. 
 
In getting back to Clare’s story, I wonder if the fact I reported a dog fighting ring is what prompted the attacks we are experiencing from the neighbors that are causing our physical injuries. They are retaliating against me for my report by physically attacking me and injuring me and my inside cats.
 
In addition, why do they need to play music so loud? Is the loud music masking the sounds of the dog fighting ring when they have an active fight going on? I don’t have an answer. That is speculation.
 
The only thing I know for certain is that I found a spray-painted cat with injuries. Since then, I have found other cats with injuries too. I have trapped them as I am able and gotten them to medical care. I provide my garage as a safe place of refuge. That is the best I can do. 
 
If you have any leads to get Flower and / or Crosby off the streets, I am open. The closest cities to me are Ithaca / Binghamton, NY. Please be aware that I will thoroughly vette any potential home. If I catch them and get them to someone privately, I will have very high standards for a potential home. To be honest, I am not comfortable trying to home them myself, as I am worried about putting them in a bad situation. However, with SNAP being full, I am open to ideas to help get them into safe homes.
 
The problem with the neighbors started with Clare. Of course, it did not start with Clare herself. The neighborhood here is very bad. Clare just brought to my attention that something is wrong, and I reported it. Ever since, I have been dealing with harassment from the neighbors for reporting. The loud music could potentially be to cover up the dog fighting ring.
 
I have no regrets about reporting Clare’s injuries, trapping her, or getting her to safety. I have no regrets about getting any of the five cats I have helped get to safety. There is still Flower and Crosby left to help. 

Bad Neighbors 2

/ rachelgoes262 / 2 Comments
Flower, the cat the neighbors kicked out when they had a baby that I have been trying to help.

Bad neighbors 2 sounds like a movie, but it’s not. It’s my life, and it is not funny. In the past 3.5 years I have owned this house, here is a short list of what the neighbors have done to me: taken a baseball bat to the siding on my house, repeatedly left dog shit on my front porch, repeatedly run over my mailbox, blocked my driveway with their vehicles so I am unable to leave for medical appointments, played their drums so loud during work hours I lost one of my jobs, played their drums so loud I had bleeding ears and doctor confirmed permanent hearing damage, repeatedly waived a gun in my face and threatened to shoot me if I asked them to move their car to stop blocking my driveway so I can get out again. 

I know, I know. You’re saying I did something to deserve this, right? What did I do to them to make them do this? 

Well, I feed the stray cat outside that they kicked out of their house when they had a baby. I called animal control on them when they left their dog outside on the porch with no food and water for three days surrounded by it’s own feces. I reported them for running a dog fighting ring in the village and using stray/neighborhood cats as bait. 

That’s what I did that pissed them off. I guess I’m a bad person and deserve to be harassed. 

This month, they not only ran into my mailbox, they drove their vehicle up on to the sidewalk and into the bushes in front of my house. This house has been here for over 100 years, but apparently all of a sudden, it is “in the way.” They are not able to back their truck into the street unless they cross the street, drive on the sidewalk and into the front of my house.

I have had the sheriff out numerous times to make reports. This was the second time they have driven on the sidewalk and into the bushes in front of my house. It was so bad that both the sheriff and I are now worried that the next time they do this (which will be the third time), they will actually drive into the front of the house and kill me.

I can no longer use my front porch. It’s not safe. I could be murdered.

That front porch is one of the reasons I bought this house. I love the front porch. Now I can’t use it because it is not safe for me. The neighbors need to drive into it because it is “in their way.”

I had to completely empty my living room and rearrange all of the furniture in my house. It is too dangerous for the cats and I to be in the living room. If the neighbors decide next time to hit the mailbox, drive on the sidewalk, drive into the bushes and into the front of the house, I could be killed in my own living room.

Again, the living room is a part of the house I love and part of the reason I bought the house. I now have two areas of my own house I cannot even use because I could be murdered by the neighbors. 

The house has been here over 100 years. I’m not sure why it’s in the way now. I don’t understand why the neighbors are not able to back their truck into the street. I guess the street is not big enough. They have to drive it across the street, over the sidewalk and into my house.

The sheriff seems to think they are either driving illegally without a license, driving while drunk/high, or all of the above. However, the sheriff claims they are unable to do anything until the do more damage or actually kill me.

I live in fear in my own house. 

I told the sheriff how they blocked my car and I could not get out for a doctor appointment and had to reschedule the appointment. Do you know how hard it is to get medical care in the pandemic? If you reschedule an appointment, you may be waiting a year before they can see you. 

However, if I even look at this neighbor sideways, they threaten me with their gun. Apparently, this is all legal in the USA. It is legal to threaten your neighbors with a gun. Their vehicle was on my property, but I’m not allowed to ask them to leave my property. They can waive a gun iin my face and there is no consequence.

Welcome to America.

The sheriff has said that when I do sell this house, I will have to do a “bad neighbor” disclosure when I sell. That means that it is driving down the value of my property and will make it harder to sell this house due to being in a bad neighborhood. There should have been a bad neighbor disclosure when I bought this house. However, the person who owned the house died here at age 90 and left the house to family who did not live in the area. I’m sure when they sold it they knew nothing about how bad this neighborhood truly is. Plus, to be honest, we were on the brink of homelessness when I bought this house. We need a place to live. As bad as it is here, we have no place to go.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this house. It’s just in a horrible neighborhood. Unfortunately, real estate is all about location, location, location. It’s just hard for me to love this house, have parts of it I cannot use, and to have to live in a state of fear of being murdered in my own home by the neighbors. Here we are. 

The sheriffs office has all of my reports. If something happens where the neighbors drive into the front of my house again, or I am murdered, at least they will know who did it. 

By the way, the neighbors may be mad that I reported their dog fighting ring, however, nothing has been done to break up the dog fighting ring. Apparently, it “brings in too much money” to be broken up. 

I’m still feeding three outside stray cats and waiting for the local no-kill rescue shelter to have space so I can trap them and get them off the streets. This is what I do that causes the neighbors to terrorize me in my own home. 

One good thing coming out of no longer being able to use my living room or front porch is that I am drastically downsizing in anticipation of a move. I have no idea where we are going or when. I just want to leave. Unfortunately, I bought this house as part of a low-income first-time homebuyer program. If I sell it, I have to pay a penalty of $10,500 in addition to whatever money I lose when I sell the house. 

We need someplace to go first. I bought this house to keep us all together. We were less than 24 hours away from homelessness when I got approved to buy this house. This house is the only thing keeping us together. We can’t leave without someplace to go where we can not only be safe but all stay together.

I’m not sure what to do about the bad neighbors. My goal remains the same as always: outlive the cats so I can keep them together. If that means I have to completely empty my living room and am unable to be in / use that room so that I do not get murdered in my own home when the neighbors drive into the house next time, then so be it.  

The cats and I have to stay together. Right now this house is keeping us together.