thanks Obama!

[katzklaw]

I'll take a bet that she tries to sue, the one lawyer who is willing to take the case knows it's a lost cause, so really he's just taking her money, and when she realizes, then she tries to sue HIM

Anyone wanna go in on that bet?

[eltf177]

Any bets the fool actually tries to sue? Not that any sane lawyer would bother...

[katzklaw]

$100? O.o dang. The local shelter adopts cats out for 35 bucks.

Also... Apparently the lady this story is about didn't get any satisfaction from the bbb or the White House, because she called this morning to tell us she's taking us to small claims and sueing us because we didn't give her a refund.

Manager said "ok. Go ahead and sue" and hung up. XD I'm liking working here!

[Minflick]

Gooshy Fud (TM)

[Slave to the Phone]

Thanks for your kind words everyone and thanks even more for doing your part to help those poor critters. Feral houses are indeed easy to construct and the only insulation they need for our mild winters is straw. Personally, I think that fixing them helps them more than having a regular source of food.

Of course, "my" feral cats do have access to kibble and clean water 24/7 AND they get bowls of the same gooshy fud that our resident cats get.

There is one who is at least 7 years old and that's a really long time for a feral cat to live.

What can I say, I'm a sucker.

[WishfulSpirit]

There are lots of tutorials on DIY feral cat shelters. Making one for your back yard can help them survive. Does your area have a neuter and release program? Some of these cats will never be ok to be pets but we can at least keep them from producing more animals it will spend their lives on the streets.

[Nunavut Pants]

IMHO, a cat outside has a better chance of finding a forever home than one in a shelter.

Depends on where you are. Most outdoor cats are quite feral, which is why most of us don't notice them. Even the friendly ones often do not take to being confined in a house.

A number of the shelters in my area are no-kill. They do not euthanize for time-in, or for age, or for crowding. If an animal is accepted by one of those, they will eventually get adopted.

[Captain Neon]

I used to feed strays too. The only reason that I don't now is that I never see any stray cats here. Cats are clever inventive and persistent survivors. IMHO, a cat outside has a better chance of finding a forever home than one in a shelter. Shelters are a death sentence for cats. $100 adoption fee vs. getting one for free from a local farmer.

[katzklaw]

indeed. i also judge you an awesome person. thank you <3

[Pixelated]

I would never survive a real winter. Currently, its 42F outside and when I went out to feed the stray cats*
*snip*

*please don't judge me. Its not their fault they are homeless and afraid. These are not nice kitties, they are totally feral. I've had them all fixed and I feed them. Most of the neighbors don't even know about them because they aren't fighting or breeding.

The only "judgment" I would make is that you are a wonderful person to be doing this.

[Slave to the Phone]

I would never survive a real winter. Currently, its 42F outside and when I went out to feed the stray cats* (bundled up in 2 sweatshirts, a jacket and snow boots) I thought my hands were going to freeze off.

I didn't know that pipes in crawl spaces could freeze, but that's probably because I've never actually lived in a place where things get that cold.

I think I'll just stay here and tell my great nieces and nephews about walking through knee deep sand to get to school. Uphill both ways! Using the pads of prickly pear cactus for shoes and considering ourselves lucky if we could find enough oil leaking out of a car for the plier hinges so we could pull the spikes out before wearing them. And we LIKED it!!! Shakes cane in the air.

*please don't judge me. Its not their fault they are homeless and afraid. These are not nice kitties, they are totally feral. I've had them all fixed and I feed them. Most of the neighbors don't even know about them because they aren't fighting or breeding.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I grew up in north Florida. When we visited my father's family in Ohio, on Lake Erie, in July, we wore sweaters.

As for avoiding frozen pipes, even in north Florida we had to leave the faucets dripping (or running slowly) to avoid frozen pipes. Our house had an uninsulated crawl space that was open to the weather.

[katzklaw]

the "basement" of the cabins is not insulated, so the hose running from the tap to the actual plumbing hookup of the cabin is prone to freezing. the outflow pipe is much wider, and it would take it being much colder for that to freeze (thank God)

[EricKei]

Just got a mental image of Storm from the X-Men as a campground manager, having to listen to an SC gripe about the weather. "You need to do something about this weather!" "Certainly. Is this better?" (zaps him with a lightning bolt)

Storm> "Do you know what happens to a tourist when it's struck by lightning...?"

Logan> *snikt* Don't finish that line. Please don't.

[wolfie]

Besides, pipes freeze long after I do, the cabin would be over 65F even if I was reduced to burning my books.

Pipes are frequently in a location where they don't get the full benefit of the building's heating system.

Just curious, but if you have to leave the tap dripping to keep the supply pipe from freezing, what keeps the drippings from freezing in the drain pipe? If that happened, you'd not only have a frozen pipe to deal with, but you'd have to turn off the dripping tap to keep from flooding the place, risking freezing the supply line.