Kittens at Saratoga

[Boardwalker]

Please don't be "kind" and feed them. Please notify the appropriate animal control people. Enabling generations of starving animals is not in their best interest. Get the animals into the hand of people who best know how to minimize the suffering that their families will go through.

 

[manning]

We were told by one of the boat drivers (from OKW to Downtown Disney) that there was a bobcat with two cubs that lives back near the tree house villas/water way. She said they were very elusive, though. But she had seen them a few times (around dusk).

A couple of years ago on that route we saw a bobcat. It was walking on the pathway along the canal right after we turned into the canal going to OKW.

We went right by it and it looked at us briefly as to say have a nice day and went on it's way.

Driver said he has heard of it but this was the first time in six years that he saw it.

 

[manning]

I turned around and it was a skunk about a foot away! I jumped up and ran and did not get sprayed (thank goodness).

That was far away lol.

One time I was leaning up against a building waitng for a ride when I notice movement at my feet. Yup it was skunk that came out of the bushes.

Talk about turning into a statue. I didn't move until he got done smelling my feet and moved on.

Good thing I had clean socks on. course had to go back up and change you know what.

 

[winniedapooh]

I recall last year going to a Ponderosa or one of those on 192 near the back road into AK and seeing 2 cats, 1 very clearly preganant. They were very friendly, DH was yelling at me to stay away...I know it is dangerous to pet a stray...anyhow. I said something to the manager and she gave a sad laugh, I was apalled asking if there was a no kill shelter or someplace they or I could call. Again that sad laugh. She told me there are more abandoned or feral animals around than the shelters can keep up with. She also told me there were virtually no no-kill shelters around and a limited amount of regular shelters. She said that either they will get taken by a kind stranger, hit by a car, eaten by an animal, or die. When we got back to the house we were renting I attempted to find a place in the phone book and was unsuccessful. The owner later told me the same thing as the restaurant manager. To this day I still see their little faces and wonder

 

[Muushka]

Please don't be "kind" and feed them. Please notify the appropriate animal control people. Enabling generations of starving animals is not in their best interest. Get the animals into the hand of people who best know how to minimize the suffering that their families will go through.

You are right. I will feed them AND call the main desk and notify them. And I will bug them until something is done.

I do love to see a cat while on vacation, but it is more important that they be taken care of on a permanent basis, not just what I can offer for the few days that I see them.

Poor kitties

 

[CMedley78]

Now I'll be looking in April for cats at SSR. I have two rescued cats that I ADORE. If I see them, I will definitely call the local humane society. I hate to see animals homeless and always in danger.

 

[Mischa]

In my 25 years of going to WDW, I've never seen a kitten and I've stayed all over. Good grief-now that we drive I'ld be wanting to bring the little critter home!! Already was thinking of naming the kittens at SSR "Sara" and "Toga".
My husband would kill me!!

I have a feeling that if we saw a kitten I'd have to find a way to bring it home (since we drive too). Though my DH would want to kill me too. Not to mention our cat once we got home! Bit I LOVE the names you would give them!!!

 

[pilferk]

We had an interesting "cat" experience back about 4 or 5 years ago:

We were heading to FW for Hoop De do. It was mid to late October, Haloween decorations and events in full swing, etc. We were heading to the 7:15 show, had some time to kill before hand, and were walking the FW "trails".

While we were walking 3 black cats...momma, daddy, and baby, suddenly appeared out of the woods and started following us around. They must've followed us for a good 15 minutes or so (we stopped, petted them, etc). I'm not sure if they were pets, or "wild", though they looked VERY well kept and well fed, so they could have simply "belonged" to one of the campers.

Finally they disappeared back into the woods. It was kind of eerie, actually, because we didn't notice them go....just like we hadn't really noticed them "appear" until they were walking out of the woods.

My wife turned to me and jokingly said:

"Wow, Disney sure does go all out on those Haloween decorations, huh?"

 

[highoctane]

Am I the only one that thinks it is funny all of these cats at WDW with Mickey being a Mouse.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Cats and kittens are cute, I have had many over the years since I was a child. But I am concerned with people coming into contract with the strays or feral cats at WDW. I had a friend who many years ago lost a baby in utero due to toxoplasmosis. It was horrible. Her baby died and they needed to wait so many weeks so she could deliver the child, but knowing all that time that the baby had died. Here is a LINK to more information on this disease. Please heed my warnings and do not have contact with these cats. Keep your children from petting them, too. It is just not worth taking the chance of diseases.

 

[TTFN!]

Cats and kittens are cute, I have had many over the years since I was a child. But I am concerned with people coming into contract with the strays or feral cats at WDW. I had a friend who many years ago lost a baby in utero due to toxoplasmosis. It was horrible. Her baby died and they needed to wait so many weeks so she could deliver the child, but knowing all that time that the baby had died. Here is a LINK to more information on this disease. Please heed my warnings and do not have contact with these cats. Keep your children from petting them, too. It is just not worth taking the chance of diseases.

Carol I am sad for your friends loss, a fetal demise is truly terrible. But you are somewhat exagerating the risks. True, pregnant women are told not to clean or handle their cat's litter/litter box, they can safely pet and play with their cats. The feline-human link is from direct fecal contact. And while theoretically, cat fecees on a cat's foot could be transmitted to a human from a scratch, that is much more likely (although extremely improbable) on a domestic pet, who's 'bathroom area' is limited to a small litter box, rather than the great outdoors.

However, the risks from rabbies, and the joys of fleas and mites are very real from just having contact with most wild mammals.

From your cited link: (Emphasis is mine)

..People catch toxoplasmosis by eating or handling raw or undercooked meat that's infected with the parasite's eggs (especially pork, lamb, or venison) or through direct contact with infected feces (usually from cats) or contaminated soil. Most people are likely to become infected after cleaning a cat's litter box or gardening. They may touch contaminated soil or other fouled objects, forget to wash their hands, and then transfer the eggs to their mouths. Rarely, people contract toxoplasmosis through organ transplantation or transfusion...

Lastly Toxo is only one part of the TORCHes infections that pose such a risk to the unborn. (Toxoplasmosis, Other Agents, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes Simplex )

 

[CarolAnnC]

I do not believe I am exaggerating any risks. Strays or feral cats should not be handled for many reasons besides Toxoplasmosis. That one disease came to mind quickly since the death of my friend's infant. As you mentioned there are many risks to pregnant women, but we are discussing the stray cats at DVC resorts in this thread.

Also from the website I mentioned is the following:

Feral cats, stray cats, and pets who are allowed to roam outdoors may eat infected small mammals and defecate on your property. Remove food sources to discourage stray cats.

Avoid handling stray cats, especially kittens. If you want to adopt a stray, or don't know whether or not a cat you'd like to adopt roamed outdoors or was fed raw meat, talk to your veterinarian before you bring the cat into your home.

Cover sandboxes, and carefully wash your hands after working in your garden (or wear gloves).


It is prudent to not handle these strays or ferals for many reasons. I know they are "cute" but they are not necessarily healthy.

Carol I am sad for your friends loss, a fetal demise is truly terrible. But you are somewhat exagerating the risks. True, pregnant women are told not to clean or handle their cat's litter/litter box, they can safely pet and play with their cats. The feline-human link is from direct fecal contact. And while theoretically, cat fecees on a cat's foot could be transmitted to a human from a scratch, that is much more likely (although extremely improbable) on a domestic pet, who's 'bathroom area' is limited to a small litter box, rather than the great outdoors.

However, the risks from rabbies, and the joys of fleas and mites are very real from just having contact with most wild mammals.

From your cited link: (Emphasis is mine)

..People catch toxoplasmosis by eating or handling raw or undercooked meat that's infected with the parasite's eggs (especially pork, lamb, or venison) or through direct contact with infected feces (usually from cats) or contaminated soil. Most people are likely to become infected after cleaning a cat's litter box or gardening. They may touch contaminated soil or other fouled objects, forget to wash their hands, and then transfer the eggs to their mouths. Rarely, people contract toxoplasmosis through organ transplantation or transfusion...

Lastly Toxo is only one part of the TORCHes infections that pose such a risk to the unborn. (Toxoplasmosis, Other Agents, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes Simplex )

 

[Ksp]

In our recent stay at OKW a small grey cat adopted us - we were coming home from extra magic hours and were greeted by a small, very insistent cat. (She was small enough to look like an adolescent cat.)

We did give her some food - after being very careful - getting close to a feral cat is just an accident waiting to happen. It became apparent to me (cat owner over 40 years now) that this was not a feral feline but perhaps was lost.

My daughter and I contacted the front desk (2x's) and had to wait about 2 hours for Pest Control to come. The CM took our little friend over to the MK kennel and the Humane Society picked her up the next day.

Long and short of it: we contacted the humane society and adopted the cat (her age is estimated at 2 - 5 years).

I can't thank the front desk of OKW enough - we came to them with our cat story, they tracked her down and got me in touch with both the MK kennel and the Humane Society.

Our newest cat is now known as "Disney."

 

[Ksp]

Sorry - just thought I should follow up by saying that both Front Desk CM's I spoke with expressly asked me NOT to bring the cat into our room.

As an allergy sufferer myself, bringing an animal into the room is a no-go - you never know how others using the room after us might have reacted.

Also - I have visions of fleas and ticks creeping along in the night . ... I didn't want that kind of souvenir from our trip home.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Hi Ksp, glad you were able to locate the kitty and that she was healthy and able to be adopted by you. I am concerned as there seems to be so many of these poor cats running loose at the DVC resorts. There are so many diseases they can get and carry. Glad you could help out with "Disney" though.

In our recent stay at OKW a small grey cat adopted us - we were coming home from extra magic hours and were greeted by a small, very insistent cat. (She was small enough to look like an adolescent cat.)

We did give her some food - after being very careful - getting close to a feral cat is just an accident waiting to happen. It became apparent to me (cat owner over 40 years now) that this was not a feral feline but perhaps was lost.

My daughter and I contacted the front desk (2x's) and had to wait about 2 hours for Pest Control to come. The CM took our little friend over to the MK kennel and the Humane Society picked her up the next day.

Long and short of it: we contacted the humane society and adopted the cat (her age is estimated at 2 - 5 years).

I can't thank the front desk of OKW enough - we came to them with our cat story, they tracked her down and got me in touch with both the MK kennel and the Humane Society.

Our newest cat is now known as "Disney."

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Yikes. I am a DVC member and this is my home resort. I will tell you it will bother me terribly if there are kittens roaming the place looking for food and comfort. I will be making a phone to the front desk and asking that they contact whomever to take care of these kittens..

It bothers me to know that we have to worry about this....my husband's immune system is compromised already and I do not want to worry about people bringing these animals inside their rooms and entertaining them while they are there and then letting them go again.

I will not be feeding these animals......just as I do not feed the birds in the parks....although there will always be those who do feed them in either place..

 

[JenGray]

I will not be feeding these animals......just as I do not feed the birds in the parks....although there will always be those who do feed them in either place..

Sometimes feeding the birds is out of our control. DM was eating an apple one day at EPCOT, when all the sudden a bird swooped down and took it from her.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Yes, the birds at WDW do become very aggressive once they get a taste for "people food". Another example is the McDonald Cart french fries over near Splash Mtn in the MK. They practically jump on people's heads there to steal the fries from their mouths..eek!

 

[pilferk]

Sometimes feeding the birds is out of our control. DM was eating an apple one day at EPCOT, when all the sudden a bird swooped down and took it from her.

It's pavlovian, to an extent.

The birds get fed, and learn to then "help themselves". They get aggressive, over time.

That's, I think, precisely why Mackey made the point.

 

[JenGray]

Point well made.