Bengal Rescue

[Moli]

Unfortunately you have people who feel giving a rescue cat a home is enough, they do not realise the cost of keeping cats in a rescue.....

[smudgley]

Originally Posted by Susan

I want to say how discusted I am at reading someone complaining about being charged £150. for a Bengal cat.
I run a cat rescue charity. I work 7 days a week, it is now 10 pm and I am just finishing for today and will be up at 6 am to start the next rescue day.
Do people realise how many unwanted, abused and dumped cats out there? We bring them into care. Nurse them to health, pay to have them health checked by a vet £30. fully vaccinated between £50/£70, teeth cleaned £150.-if they need it, neutered £40/£80. Microchipped £10/£30. Flead and wormed £6. Fed on all the best food. One cat if ill can cost us up to £1000. Our vet bills are approx £3000 a month. Our outgoing expenses approx: £5000 a month. I am sure you have worked out that £150. does not cover the cost of the cat. Then we get people moaning that they have to pay a SMALL contribution when they come to us for a cat. Rescue charities actually subsidise the cost of owning a cat.
I do not get any wages because there is no spare money.

All I can say is go buy a Bengal cat from a breeder. And then pay for your own vaccinations etc. I guess you would be looking at near £1000. Or be decent people and support a rescue charity.

Susan, you have just joined the forum, but the first 2 posts you have made are from old threads that you have dug up and stated how disgusted you are with people. How bizarre!

[Susan]

I have been working in cat rescue for many years and nothing has changed. The £150. for a Bengal cat may be an old arguement as this was posted some time ago.

However, some people still resent the fact that we charge a fee for a cat. They expect the cat to be given for nothing 'cos they are doing us a favour'.

It may be an old arguement to you but we have the phone hung up everyday when we mention a fee. So although you find it boring, I find it extremely ignorant.

Animal cruelty is on the increase. More and more cats are dumped everyday (we receive on average 25 calls day reporting this). And rescue is over worked and has to suffer much ignorance and abuse.

How bizarre is that.

[charliebubs]

Susan - Smudgley is on your side - she runs a rescue too. I don't think she's disagreeing with you, just finding it odd that the only threads you are posting to seem to be to create arguements. (sorry to speak on your behalf, Smudgley!)

I volunteer for the Ragdoll Rehome Group and we charge a rehoming fee for the same reasons as others have posted above - by the time we have had all the necessary things done, the cost of the cats to us is sky high with all the vets bills, medication, food, litter and so on.

I think that the fee we charge is totally reasonable given the amount that the Group spend. Again, we are all volunteers and receive no funding from anywhere. We have stalls at cat shows to try and fundraise and hold occassional events, but it comes down to the goodwill of the volunteers and supporters.

[smudgley]

Originally Posted by Susan

I have been working in cat rescue for many years and nothing has changed. The £150. for a Bengal cat may be an old arguement as this was posted some time ago.

However, some people still resent the fact that we charge a fee for a cat. They expect the cat to be given for nothing 'cos they are doing us a favour'.

It may be an old arguement to you but we have the phone hung up everyday when we mention a fee. So although you find it boring, I find it extremely ignorant.

Animal cruelty is on the increase. More and more cats are dumped everyday (we receive on average 25 calls day reporting this). And rescue is over worked and has to suffer much ignorance and abuse.

How bizarre is that.

Did I say I find it boring? How rude!

You don't need to tell me how many unwanted cats and kittens there are in the world Susan!

[Moli]

Think you should know Susan, Smudgley has fostered 100's of kittens for the CP, she is well aware of the problems...

[smudgley]

deleted post

[daviddakota]

Newbie here, so go easy! Just thought i'd share my thoughts...
There are clearly two sides. Now on one hand, the OP is right, taking a cat into a loving home is paramount, and i doubt people really disagree. But long term, the dedicated teams providing rescue are subject to costs which should ideally be recovered- if not, despite their dedication, its more than possible commercial pressures could force rescue centres to close (i do hope i'm not speaking out of turn, or offending anyone).

[dandysmom]

Very sensible view, David; and all are welcome to express an opinion here, newbie or veteran!

[meep]

Have just caught onto this thread now, and don't want to stir but just add my opion, as I think both sides of argument have been well covered.

If someone is unwilling to pay £150 to rescue a pedigree cat, they have their own reasons for feeling that way (financial hardship, prinple, budget etc.) but they should really consider that owning a cat, pedigree or not, can incur extra unwanted costs such as vet bills (if they're not insured), potentially replacing a carpet of a rented property if they tear it up... many other things. So if money is a major deciding factor in whether to take a pet on or not, its probably best to reassess that you can afford the upkeep of looking after a pet yourself.

I'm not saying that if you've got a tight budget you shouldn't keep pets, anyone can, as long as they budget carefully and are aware that some sudden, unexpected costs can crop up: this is part of owning a pet.