Oh look a farm! I'll just drop my unwanted dog/cat/rabbit, they can always use more

bcabrobin

We have a cat problem, No we have a people that are so stupid problem.

Yes we live on a farm But NO we do not need your pregnant cat/kittens/dog. Oh by the way, I didn't get the rabbits you dropped off before they were hit on the road.

This summer has been the worst in a LONG Long time. This summer we had at least 20 cats/kittens show up at the feed dishes, that did not start out on this farm. And I'm sure the # is alot higher

We have had kittens that couldn't of been more than 3-4 weeks old. Not sure if mom died or they keep the mom just drop the kids.

Mamma's so big they looked like they were going to pop.

So scared, it takes weeks for them to come near you, if they ever do, we still see a lot of streaks when you open the door.

Either they are being dropped ( really need to look for a sign - there has to be a sign - Drop off unwanted animals here) or the cats are going around the neighborhood passing the word that we have the best food at that farm.

Every farmer I have talked to in the area has had animals dropped, but this year is really bad.

Does anyone else have this problem in your area?

naomi.kohlmeier

So sorry you are having this problem. Sounds familiar. It's just as easy to drop them off at the vets or the humane society if you have them near. Or try to give them away to people who do want a pet. At least that way there's some hope for them that wild animals won't eat them or they get hit by vehicles. So sad that people can't do the responsible thing. Then you have to deal with their irresponsibility!

LaurieLovesLearning

We haven't seen this for a while, which is good. It can be very frustrating and is rude to have people do to the pets & to farmers.

Our dog would run other things (cats he doesn't know & any dogs) off. I wouldn't be surprised if he would just eat any rabbits.

My understanding is that many people got new pets near the start of the pandemic. Now they find that they no longer want them or can't afford them. It is like everyone getting chickens then, yet a bit different. At least you can eat those if you can find someone/someplace who is willing to butcher them.

@bcabrobin Do you not have a territorial dog that will run things like this off? If not, I'd get one and quickly.

frogvalley

Wow! I never thought of dropping unwanted animals at someone else's place. Very rude indeed. I just hope I am never in a place where I have to choose between feeding my families or feeding pets.

We went to the animal shelter to drop off materials and discovered they took in chickens. I would have adopted them, but they wanted a lot of money per chicken. I would have thought they would be happy to give them to someone so they didn't have to clean the coop, provide feed, water them all the time and let them out in the morning and lock them up at night.

Can't believe people would be so brazen as to dump the animals at your house/farm and then call to ask you if you found them. Oh my!

LaurieLovesLearning

@frogvalley, I think @bcabrobin was being sarcastic about the rabbits. 😉 I think what was meant was that people assumed the rabbits would be taken care of, not hit on the road.

Many people think that farmers will take their unwanteds in...feel sorry for them or whatever. They have space & food and other animals for theirs to play with, right? Plus the owner can leave with the happy thought that their animal will live a happy life (knowing they "responsibly" left it at someone's lane), when often it is terrifying for the animal, and very dangerous. Many die of starvation or predation or get shot...but it is not seen by those who discard, so that reality doesn't exist.

It is pretty uninformed, selfish & shortsighted.

Taking in chickens? Ah, I don't know that they'd do that here. How strange.

gardneto76

This used to happen to us a lot growing up and we didn’t have a “farm” but my dad worked with large farmers and would often time get a few pigs in the spring to raise. We were very rural, so either one of the farmers my dad worked with or one of the Amish families down the street would take some of the ones that were dropped off. We always always asked and never dumped them on others like they had done to us. I think some of those cats and dogs were then turned into pets for their kids or grand kids. We also ended up adopting several of them ourselves. Sorry his is happening still. People need to be responsible for their pets.

On a side note someone mentioned taking the time o the Humane Society or something similar. Many places are now charging you to surrender and animal. Out here our rescues and shelters are so full they have to turn animals away some days.

shllnzl

I suspect people slough off their guilt by dumping animals "where they are sure to get a home."

They should take responsibility and turn them into the shelter where it is likely they will be euthanized. The people will not acknowledge to themselves what they have done to their animals; they want to believe in fairy tales.

So frustrating and sad.

Cornelius

People need to not get an animal that they can not take care of. I had a teacher in High School that kept being given dogs by her sister since she "loved dogs so much". It didn't matter that she said no, her sister still left the dog at her house.

soeasytocraft

So frustrating! Woke up one morning and out of the corner of my sleepy I saw black and while. Skunk! First thought! But no. It was a young momma with 3 young. They weren’t super small but still nursing.

Looked to me they were placed in the basket we have at the back door for our cats to enjoy.

Momma appeared healthy but she died shortly after. Found her with her babies still trying to nurse. We found a home for the 2 boys and ended up keeping the girl. Annoyed that someone else’s problem became mine. People who do that can’t be trusted with anything in life! I still wonder if it was someone we knew.

marcy_northlightsfarm

I live on a farm and over the years we've had a few cats dropped off. One was so skittish at first, then one day she scared the heck out of me by coming at me on her hind legs. Terrified, I backed up so fast- then I realized she was going for my hand and the scraps I had for the chickens. Turns out she was starving. Poor thing!

People don't realize how cruel it is to drop their house pets off in a strange environment where the local animals will defend their territory. It's sad.

Melissa Burford

I don't live on a farm, but in the woods, and there are a lot of cats dropped off up here, and the occasional dog, which is sad, because it seems that they really are left out here just to die. But I do have to say that we got one of our best pets from someone dumping her off - a raggedy old schnauzer who had been used as a breeder in a puppy mill, she lived out her remaining years spoiled. But really, it is such a terrible thing to have animals just dumped off somewhere.

Monek Marie

We used to get a ton of dogs and cats and living near a state border they often drove in from the neighboring state and dropped them off. I would try to catch them before they got hit. Some I would tame and others, there was not much hope for.

The barn collapsed in a wind storm so we don't get drop offs but do get a few strays.

It makes me very sad when this happens.

Megan Venturella

We found a puppy a few months ago by our cow pasture. I think he might have been left behind somehow my his mama. He was pretty healthy, only 8 or 9 weeks old. I’ve seen some dogs running around in the area and maybe he was one of them, no way to be sure. I’m terrified of dogs, but he was so sweet I couldn’t let him go.

RustBeltCowgirl

From the looks of his paws, he's not going to be a huge dog. Enjoy your new best friend.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

He is absolutely precious.

I'm sorry to hear about the animals being left on the rest of everyone's property. It breaks my heart.😔

People can be so cruel, selfish, and thoughtless.

seeker.nancy - Central Texas

Growing up on a farm and then years later when I had it, dropping animals off was a big problem. Dad would check with the neighbors and if no one claimed or wanted them they were dispatched to save them from suffering. I hated that but I understood it. Our dogs were territorial so they could not get to food and water plus we had enough cats and dogs.

Dad never wanted more than two dogs at a time because he said that if there were three they would develop a pack and start running. Strays running in packed killed a lot of his sheep and goats. Twice Dad was attacked by big aggressive dogs that were too much bigger than ours. Fortunately Dad always took the gun out when our dogs were raising a ruckus or he went out in the pasture. Fortunately he was fast enough to escape injury.

Some people were stupid enough to think the animals could just go back out "in the wild". Seriously? Florida has a massive issue in the Everglades due to boa snakes being set "free" when they got too big to handle. They have naturalized themselves and bred quickly. This has upset the balance and some species are now in danger of going extinct.

Okay, rant stopped 😒.

lewis.mary.e

This hasn't happened to us, yet. I really hope it doesn't because I love animals and realistically I know we couldn't keep more than we already have.

Paradox

almost be worth a sign to say "If you don't want it, why do you think I would? Abandoned animals will be disposed of"

karenjanicki

I'm sorry. That's extremely ignorant. People try to pass their responsibilities to other people. Our next door neighbors let their cat out. Every summer. They never bother to have her fixed and she winds up pregnant. This year we were feeding her and her 2 kittens and have been for months. It's irresponsible and selfish behavior. I would hazard a guess that with covid and many losing their jobs that's why you are seeing the unfortunate increase. Growing up people did the same thing to our family. Once, no joke we found an iguana......

Marjory Wildcraft

That is too bad. I had heard during the lockdowns the animal shelters were essentially close to empty as people longing for company adopted like never before.

It is definitely a thing living in the country side to see all kinds of animals that are dropped off. I've always been an adopter of strays or get from an animal shelter type person myself. Mixed breeds are smarter!

seeker.nancy - Central Texas

Mixed breeds also have better health in general. There are so many amazing animals out there that a lot of people are too blind to see. Shelters and rescues are definitely the way to go.