A Reminder
It seems it may be a good time to remind people just what Caboodle Ranch is here for. With all that is going on, many of the ‘nay sayers’ have failed to realize what it is we really do and how we come into having so many cats at the ranch. The very people that are saying bad things about us, have never even been to the ranch and most likely do not even spay or neuter their cats.
Craig created the ranch many years ago when he saw a great need for a safe place for homeless cats to be able to live their lives out in peace. He was at a work site and saw stray cats looking for food. Whether they were stray or abandoned, they finally had a place to live safely, have a full belly every day and a warm place to sleep. The ranch has grown and evolved since then. And it seems this new concept of the outdoor ranch has people on edge. Just because it is new does not mean it is wrong. In fact quite the opposite. More and more people are following in Craig’s footsteps and buying land to start a mini version of the ranch so that they too can help get homeless cats safe.
The outdoor concept of a shelter does not mean the cats are only outside. But it means they are able to roam the fenced in grounds at their leisure and enjoy being a cat. They have dozens and dozens of shelters available to them to cool off in, warm up in, get out of the weather etc. All specifically made with cats in mind. They have dry food feeders throughout the grounds available to them 24/7, fresh water sites everywhere and even get fed moist food every day. They enjoy cozy cat beds, cat trees, cat treats just like your own house cat. But the ranch is their permanent home. There is no denying that there are not enough homes for all the homeless cats. Period. That is why the ranch is their permanent home. Where they can rest assured they won’t be uprooted again and traumatized. We urge people to adopt from humane societies and animal control because those cats literally have their days numbered.
But we don’t just take in stray and abandoned cats. We take in ALL cats. In fact 60% of our cat population is domestic cats. Cats that had homes but circumstances changed within those homes to where they had to place their cat with us. Loss of a job, foreclosure on a home, and the main reason for getting domestic cats; ‘spraying on the furniture or carpet’. We happily took in these cats that would ALL have otherwise been put to sleep.
We also take in cats from around the world, like Germany , Japan , Mexico . We also take in cats from other humane societies that have been ‘full’, from people that have been put into nursing homes and cannot take their cat with them, from people who have passed away, feral colonies that are in danger of losing their homes due to construction or evil people. We take in ALL cats.
What PETA and the ASPCA have done to us, to the cats, is deplorable, inhumane, unconscionable. They went in on assumptions and the words of people who had a personal agenda against Craig, and that have either never been to the ranch or spent a mere hour there. They removed the caboodle cats that were once, a long time ago, scared, starving, or days away from being put to sleep, cats that have taken months or even years to trust another human again, and stuck them into cages in a warehouse. All because of lies that were told with no real facts or evidence to back them up. Most of the ASPCA officers and vets said how amazing the ranch was and how sociable and happy the cats were. But still, they took them all from the home they have grown to love and feel safe in.
The less than half truths that have been spread about the ranch by them are finally being seen as lies. Thousands of people from around the world are shouting out that this is wrong! They have been to the ranch, brought their cats, visited or worked there, and know what it’s really like there. When the ASPCA said they found cats with FIV or FeLV, they failed to say that we have an FIV/FeLV house specifically for those cats, where they live separated from the rest of the cats at the ranch, and are given a chance to live out their lives instead of being ruthlessly put to sleep. They stated that Tommy was the result of living with a ‘hoarder’. When their very own ‘official’ description of a hoarder doesn’t even come close to Craig or the ranch (you can Google it). They failed to mention that Craig went to all avenues to restore Tommy’s health, thousands of dollars at the vet and countless sleepless nights where he hand fed Tommy, bringing his weight back up to near normal and back on his feet again and recovering, when the Gainesville vet himself declared him incurable and sent him home to die.
The photos they took of sick cats…they were in the sick ward! So naturally those cats are not going to look perky and fat. The truth is coming out and these people will be held responsible for their actions. What they have done to Craig and his cats is disgraceful and reprehensible. They terrorized them for 5 days and through all the hours of the day and night, chasing them down, hunting them down and trapping them to take them away from their home.
To have also taken my own cats, that I brought down from North Carolina a mere 4 weeks ago and claim that I am unfit and unable to care for them is atrocious and offensive. They have destroyed so many lives in their wake and still they claim to be acting in the best interest of the cats. If they truly were, all the caboodle cats and my own will have been returned already, or better yet would have never ever been disturbed from their lives.
We are fighting this, with everything we have. And we can assure everyone that the people responsible for this atrocity will be extremely regretful of their actions.
We need your support to continue and to fight with us. Flood the internet with your photos of your visit and with your experience. Call the Governor of Florida to complain, email your support to us, donate to our legal fund, anything you can do to help us put a stop to this ever happening to another animal rescue ever again and get our cats home! Your support and reaching out to us in this horrible time has strengthened our resolve to fight. Thank you and keep it coming!
Nanette