Heya,
I live in a place with a lot of strays; dogs and cats alike. People generally aren’t too bad about here, unlike other places. But you bet, I turn cold and stare anyone dead in the eyes who scares them or so much as lifts a hand when I’m around. Nobody hurt them while I was around so far, thank god.
But it’s a pack of six. They come running whenever they see me and even follow me around a bit, which makes me feel like some kind of shepherd. The bond is only growing. But I’m moving soon. And it’s painful to even write this.
I absolutely can not take any of them in, or find someone who would. The stray-rescue pipeline in my circles is already clogged.
So this is the reality. Me gone, and them here.
Should I have been colder towards them? Should I stop petting them so much and stuff? Please tell me the separation won’t be too tough on them.
Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like this in this country. But thanks for trying to help :)
It’s like that even in the US, it’s a regional/county/city thing. Some let strays exist but if reported they’ll come in and remove them, usually not great for the animal. In some places like that there are people who run sleeper organizations who quietly go out to reported feral locations and do a capture/spay/neuter/shots to keep the population down and help the animals. Some ferals are not ever going to be a pet, and that’s fine as long as they have a place to live that’s safe (from humans).