Each time a friendly cat shows up at a feeding station, we wonder how the poor pet came to be on the streets. We know they have experienced human companionship as they are friendly, and many have thankfully been spayed or neutered. Not used to fending for themselves, the animals arrive frightened, skinny and starving, sporting injuries, and covered with fleas, yet here they come looking for food and love.

A particularly beautiful blue-eyed Siamese male wandered into a north county feeding station a few weeks ago, emaciated and covered in scabs. He was suffering from severe dermatitis due to a flea allergy, and had kicked himself bloody. Neutered and friendly, he allowed the feeder to pick him up and take him in for treatment and a physical exam. Taking him home for follow-up care and to fatten him up, she was rewarded with purrs and mews.

Photos were taken and a flyer was made to search for the owner. No one came forward, so we began to look for a new home for him, no easy task when it’s an adult cat with scabs. Finally a woman in Santa Barbara said she’d take him, and we made plans for the transfer from Santa Maria.

The first leg of his journey put him into my care for a few hours, ones he spent in a large cage in the garage. During that time he lay curled up in a bed, not showing interest in much of anything. He did purr and lean into head scratches each time I went out to check on him, but he wouldn’t leave his bed even to eat. He would just stretch out his neck to the offered bowl. I thought he looked depressed.

As the day progressed, I realized that something was just not right with the poor boy so I contacted the adopter, telling her I wanted to keep him overnight for observation. The next day we decided a trip to the vet was in order. To load him into a carrier I had to pick him up out of his bed, and that’s when I discovered he hadn’t even bothered to get up to use the litter box! He had been lying on a urine-soaked blanket.

The subsequent exam showed fluid in the belly, a galloping heartbeat and elongated heart. Diagnosis was speculatively possible FIP and heart failure. He was also deemed to be in his senior years, much older than we had thought. The kindest thing to do was to euthanize him, and once again I found myself cradling someone else’s dying cat in my arms with tears in my eyes.

This poor cat should have died in his own home, surrounded by those who adopted him years ago, not turned out on the streets alone and in poor health. It is considered abuse and is against the law, but that does not stop some people from abandoning pets for whatever reason.

We know that the general consensus of relinquishment to a shelter is a death sentence for their pet. While this may be true in some cases, it is not set in stone. Even if the animal is put down, it is kinder than suffering alone on the streets, especially with winter looming. Driving them out into the country for release is even worse, for the animals will not know where to go to for shelter or water and will most likely succumb to coyotes. I can only think that people who dump their pets sooth their own souls by remaining ignorant of the animals’ fate.

Spaying and neutering is the best way to avoid unwanted litters, and re-homing a pet or relinquishing it to a shelter is the kindest thing to do if you can no longer care for it. No cat or dog should ever be abandoned, to end up dying on the streets or in a stranger’s arms. I did not realize this was part of the volunteer job I signed up for more than five years ago. Your pets are your responsibility; please don’t make them ours.