A horrible cat story :(

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Angi

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My mom live with us. She moved in almost a year ago. Her cat has always been an apartment cat and was loving being able to go out during the day. She would mostly stay in the yard or go next door and hang out under our next door neighbors deck. They enjoyed her visits. Well they moved last week and Friday the house was tented for termites. We did not get a notice like I have in the past when a neighbors house is going to get tented and somehow the deck was tented with poor Pumpkin under it. Around 10 pm my mom could hear her cat screaming. She called a friend when she couldn't get a hold of the exterminator and they tried to get the tent off and free the cat. I was at the Padre game and didn't get home until midnight. By then the cat was quiet but we still tried to get to her. We did not succeed. The fire department came and was there for two or three hours. I guess they were trying to make sure the gas was not getting out. I am sure we will find Pumpkin dead under the deck when they take the tent off. The deck is that fake wood Trexx stuff so I am not sure why they tented it, but I feel so bad for the poor cat and my mom

Well I hope by sharing this awful story others will be careful with there cats when a neighbor moves because odds are in California the tent is going up. RIP Pumpkin :(
 

Jtort

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[PENSIVE FACE] I'm sorry this happened.
 

Jacqui

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There was no way to hack or saw (like a chain saw) through the tent fabric? (I have only saw those tents on TV shows, so I know nothing about them) What if that had been a small child? I am so sorry for your Mother(and the cat), along with really ticked at the bug folks for not doing their jobs correctly.
 

yagyujubei

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It is amazing to me, that a house can be tented, filled with toxic chemicals, and then left unattended.
 

Jacqui

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yagyujubei said:
It is amazing to me, that a house can be tented, filled with toxic chemicals, and then left unattended.

Or atleast without a 24/7 number with somebody always on the other end.
 

wellington

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Jacqui said:
There was no way to hack or saw (like a chain saw) through the tent fabric? (I have only saw those tents on TV shows, so I know nothing about them) What if that had been a small child? I am so sorry for your Mother(and the cat), along with really ticked at the bug folks for not doing their jobs correctly.

Totally my thoughts too. I have never seen or heard of this before. But, they should have don't their job properly and when they didn't, they should have cut through it some how. So, so sorry, this is a terrible thing that should have never happened:(
 

luvpetz27

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This really upsets me. I read this last night before I went to sleep and I kept thinking about the poor cat and could not sleep. This am I am still so sad. I am so sorry this happened and I hope your mom is ok. Hugs to you and your mom.
 

Angi

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They had the heavy vinyl clipped together and then heavy weights all around it. She tore tons of clips off and threw the 50lb weight off it but still could not get to poop Pumpkin. The fire department was shocked at how much damage two 65 year old woman did. It took the hazmat team 2 or 3 hours to secure it.
The health department was just here investigating because we should have been able to get ahold of someone from the fumigation company. She called and called but only got an answering service. The did show up the next day and were pretty rude. I think they will be in some kind of trouble before this is over.

Tenting houses is pretty common here, but in the past when a neighbor had it done the fumigation company put a warning on my door knob saying what day cats should be kept in.


Thank you all for the kind words.
 

Jd3

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I'm very sorry for your loss. Please do not take this the wrong way... But this is one of the many reasons cats should not be allowed to run freely. People know they shouldn't let dogs run free but for some reason think cats are ok to be out and loose.

This is a very hard and traumatic thing to go through, but unfortunately it is all too common.

Not to mention the number of people who have died trying to get into tented homes. It is also shocking to see people don't realize the risk to the general public and rescuers.
 

EricIvins

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I guess I will be the Black Sheep here...

How is it the Extermination companies fault that a Cat belonging to another property may or may not be on the property they are treating? I would think that the individuals that did the damage would be on the hook for either or both A) Trespassing, and B) Tampering with some fairly toxic stuff, potentially endangering others
 

Sulcata_Sandy

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What does the renting exterminate for? In the Pacific Northwest, we have termites here quite badly...do horrible damage and ruin houses. Never seen "tenting" done here before. Just really curious.

And give your momma a hug from me. I feel terrible for her.




Sandy in Oregon
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Jacqui

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EricIvins said:
I guess I will be the Black Sheep here...

How is it the Extermination companies fault that a Cat belonging to another property may or may not be on the property they are treating? I would think that the individuals that did the damage would be on the hook for either or both A) Trespassing, and B) Tampering with some fairly toxic stuff, potentially endangering others

How about they should be looking to be sure things are clear BEFORE covering it and pumping in the poison? As I said before, what if it had been a small child hiding instead of a cat? With so many places making it legal to break car windows to save dogs from hot cars, I think this falls along the same lines.
 

luvpetz27

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I totally agree with Jacqui on this!! Any smart person would look first!!......or atleast put a sign on their door like the other company did.
 

luvpetz27

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I really dont care who is right or who is wrong. I am just sorry for the loss of her cat. I feel very sad that this happened and feel so bad for her mom!!
 

AnnV

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OMG
What a terrible situation.
Was the cat killed?
Poor thing... I am sorry for it.
Ann

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Yvonne G

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I split off some of the argumentative posts from here. Everyone was allowed to make his point ONE TIME...there was no reason to continue beating the horse to death. Once was enough.

It takes a very long time, sometimes all day, to tent a house and get it all sealed up. While that was happening, the cat (or any small child) had plenty of time to escape. The exterminator also had plenty of time to scare off any critters that may have been hiding under the house. Some people think cats should be kept indoors. Some people allow them to roam free. This is not the venue for that argument.
 

Arnold_rules

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First, I am sorry about your poor kitty. I am not sure whom is really to blame, perhaps shared among several parties. Probably negiligence on the part of the pest control company for no notification to neighborhood. Not only pets, but young children are very curious little critters and could have gotten into the tent some way.

Second, fortunately, or unfortunately, it might be a good thing you and your mom were not able to get into the tent. The chemicals used for tent fumigation are designed to penetrate most construction materials and would have posed a serious health hazard to you and your mom.
 

Yvonne G

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Arnold makes a very good point. The main reason for tenting is to get rid of bugs that are behind the walls, like termites and roaches. So the chemical is very strong and is a gas that would quickly escape through any hole that might have been made in the tent. It is a very good thing you were not able to penetrate the tent.
 

Angi

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I didn't post this to point fingers at anyone, just to warn others. Pumpkin was an indoor cat most of her life. When my mom moved in with me we tried keeping her in the yard with the pool away from the dogs. they have a separate yard. After awhile she started leaving for short period of time. Mostly to go to the next door neighbors that just moved. They enjoyed her visits. After she started going outside she started looking much healthier. I wish we could have kept her in the yard but with cats that is hard to do. I know there are risks with letting a cat go outside, but this was something we didn't see coming, that is why I wanted to warn others.
The case is being investigate, I believe because the exterminators may have broke some laws. The man from the health department thought that they could not work in another county and should be on call 24/7. We will see what happens and I will let you all know. The new neighbors were mortified to hear what happened in their yard, I assured them it had nothing to do with them, but they are cat lovers so it upset them. The neighbor on the other side was very nice and insist on disposing of the cat for me. I did not want my mom to see her. I hate to see animals live in a way that is not semi natural. My dog are indoor dogs but can go out when ever they want. My torts have a large pen and get to roam the yard a few times a week. I am not much of a cat person, but to me it seems unnatural to not allow them some outside time. Anyway I hope our loss can save another cat, that is what sharing the good and bad is all about. Most of us are hear to learn right?
 
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