Today we brought four four-week-old kittens to Dumbrava. The actual decision took only a few seconds. The discussions before it took considerably longer.
By the time the kittens arrived, we had already spent hours trying to figure out whether taking them in was something we could do responsibly, not because we didn’t want to help them, but because saying yes to one animal always affects the others already in our care.
A few weeks ago, we took in five puppies and four kittens in one day, then came Mada, this weekend, an eight-week-old kitten, Nicky. At the same time, there were requests to take in adult dogs. None of these animals arrived because we had empty space waiting for them. They arrived because there was nowhere else for them to go.
The biggest concern with these kittens was not food or blankets. It was disease. They are too young to be vaccinated, the older kittens are not yet fully protected, and Felix’s immune system has enough problems of its own. Before saying yes, we had to figure out where the kittens could stay, how they could be isolated, and how we could reduce the risk for everybody else.
This is probably one of the least visible parts of rescue work. Most people see the rescue itself. They see the animal, the transport, the first meal, the photo posted online. What they don’t see are the discussions that happen beforehand, when we try to balance the needs of the new animal against the safety of the ones already here.
And it isn’t only the animals that are affected. Every new arrival means more cleaning, more feeding, more monitoring, more treatments, more laundry, more veterinary visits, and more time spent making sure everyone stays healthy. The extra work does not magically distribute itself, it ends up with the same small group of people who are already caring for dozens of animals, organizing activities for children, running sterilization campaigns, fundraising, doing paperwork, and trying to maintain some balance with the rest of their lives.
Every new animal comes with responsibilities that last long after the rescue itself is over. Somebody has to feed them, monitor their health, clean after them, administer treatments, arrange veterinary visits, and make sure they don’t become sick or spread illness to others. The rescue takes a few minutes, the responsibility can last months ... or years.
What makes these decisions difficult is that the available resources are not unlimited, the animals at Dumbrava already require at least two hours of work every morning and another two every evening. That’s before veterinary trips, sterilization campaigns, activities with children, fundraising, paperwork, and our actual jobs. Because Dumbrava is not our job, we are volunteers, and like everybody else, we have families, homes, appointments, and days when we would also like to sit down and rest.
People sometimes assume that NGOs receive enough funding to handle situations like this, or that there must be paid staff taking care of the daily work, others imagine that we have empty kennels, spare rooms, or a constant flow of adoptions creating new space. The reality is usually much less exciting.
Most of the time, we are simply trying to make everything fit, A bit more food, a bit more space, a bit more time, a bit more money and somehow, another animal.
In the end, after all the discussions and calculations, we arrived at the same conclusion we often do. There was no better option for these kittens. The people who found them had already tried to find help elsewhere. We tried as well. There wasn’t another solution.
So we said yes.
The kittens are safe tonight. The older kittens are safe. Felix is safe. For now, at least, the arrangement works.
But situations like this are also why we keep repeating the same message, even when it is less exciting than rescue stories, rescue organizations cannot solve animal overpopulation, at best, we can manage its consequences, the real solution is prevention.
Every cat or dog that is sterilized today is a litter that will never need rescuing tomorrow. Every responsible owner reduces the pressure on shelters, foster homes, and rescue organizations. Every community that takes responsibility makes decisions like today’s a little less common.
We’ll continue helping when we can, but if we’re honest, we would much rather see fewer animals needing rescue than become better at finding space for them.