WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Still no sign of Timmynocky, reports Marcia Ferranto, executive director of the ship's foundation. She says Timmy does have a microchip, so it can be read at many vets' offices.
Ferranto suspects someone has taken the kitten home. "He is just the most friendly cat," she says.
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Timmynocky, the 5- to 6-month-old gangly gray, short-hair kitten who is one of the newest members of the Kalmar Nyckel's crew, is missing.
The crew thought Timmynocky -- sailor talk for thingumajig -- was onboard May 13 when they set sail from Dravo Plaza, near the Shipyard Shops in Wilmington, up the Christina River. He wasn't, says Debbie Boerke, one of the crew members who also helps to care for the ship's cats. UPDATE: Ferranto says the ship's crew DID NOT see Timmy on the Riverwalk as they left on the sail. If they had, they would have called the office to send someone to look for him.
"He's very friendly and loves the ice cream that they sell on the Riverwalk at Molly's Ice Cream shop," Boerke says. "He has been seen following people back to their cars begging for ice cream and has even jumped in people's cars to get the ice cream."
Timmynocky, who was adopted by the crew in April from Faithful Friends shelter, was wearing a purple break-away collar with a tag identifying him as Clew Garnet, a former ship cat who was hit and killed by a car in March on Seventh Street. Timmynocky's new tag hadn't arrived. The ship's longtime mascot cat, Toolbox, also is gray.
If you have seen Timmynocky or know anything about his whereabouts, please call the ship's office at 429-7447. The ship is offering a reward.
The ship's cats are featured in the May issue of Delaware Pets.
18 comments:
My suggestion to Faithful Friends is to not give these irresponsible people any more cats!!!! One gets hit by a car and then they leave this one behind thinking it was going to be there when they got back????? Maybe someone wanted to give it a "GOOD" home....
Wow, lost a kitten that they let run around Wilmington. And thier last cat was hit by a car. I am really, really surprised Faithful Friends would let them adopt. Not good pet owners. Hope it isn't pitbull bait.
Why didn't they at least call someone and have him picked up???? I also hope he isn't injured or killed - poor baby. He was way too young to be let loose to roam around. It’s irresponsible. Let’s all hope he was taken in by a RESPONSIBLE person. Our family adopted his brother from Faithful Friends and he is a terrific pet - very friendly, social with strangers and family members alike and very intelligent. I bet Timmyknocky would be a great pet.
Another success for Faithful Friends....I used to work for the organization. If they had a brain in their heads they would be dangerous. Why they thought adopting this cat into this situation was a good thing defies common sense. I have been working with animals for 10 years, and have never ever seen anything so disorganized and lacking in common sense as faithful friends!
Geez, you would think that a no kill animal shelter that says they want to help animals wouldn't have adopted this cat to such a lifestyle. I had a friend who used to volunteer there, and she told me horror stories! She tried desperately to get the News Journal interested in what she had to say to no avail. I guess Faithful Friends and the NewsJournal are "in bed" together.
No surprises here; Faithful Friends adopting out kittens to such responsible owners, not once but TWICE, and the News Journal glossing over that fact, yet again. Why doesn't the Journal tell the REAL story of what goes on at Faithful Friends? Doesn't anybody care that animals are neglected, mistreated and DIE because of their mismanagement? I pray that this lost kitty found a GOOD home.
How dare you criticize an organization as caring and devoted as Faithful Friends! People are so critical when it comes to charity organizations. WHY?? These people work ROUND THE CLOCK to provide good care to these animals and work very hard to find good homes! I volunteer there 4 times a week and, just like any other organization, they have certain aspects that need improvement. I agree that cat should be kept indoors and this was not the correct home for it, but Faithful Friends is NOT a bad organization. They do their best to prevent AND correct problems as they arise. If only you knew how hard they work... each full time staff member spending 70 or more hours a week! Can you really criticize them that much when they are overworked and only get to see their families at 10 at night??? They do not leave the building unless every animal is tended to and checked over twice, even if that means staying until well past midnight. And speaking of disgruntled volunteers, (even though ALL the volunteers currently at Faithful Friends are WONDERFUL) there are occasionally volunteers who come in looking for things wrong! They criticize staff members for the most minute things! They complain about doing dishes! Ask ANYONE who volunteers for Faithful Friends right now, and you will find a loving, devoted group of people who are willing to do anything for the animals. Every organization has issues to work out. Give them a break please! They work so hard!
To the person who is defending Faithful Friends...oh, PUHLEESE! Yes, I am sure there are some dedicated people there. But you don't change the stripes on a tiger. When I worked there the management was carless, uncaring, devious, and disrespectful. I have no reason to believe it is any better now, because the same people are still running the show. I also have been in animal rescue for many years and have never seen a place so poorly run. The animals pay the price for human incompetence & lack of compassion and good old common sense. I personally witnessed all the problems the last post described and it sickened me. Anybody that challenged the status quo and tried to make things better was asked to leave. Why would you dismiss caring, devoted volunteers and employees that give generously of their time, efforts and MONEY, rather than taking suggestions and making things right for the animals? U might do that if u were HIDING something and had your own agenda, not the welfare of the animals at heart. Give me a BREAK....when is somebody going to CARE enough to see the truth and demand better of Faithful Friends FOR THE SAKE OF THE ANIMALS?????
Wow, the last post I put detailing all of the problems at Faithful Friends, which others on this blog have also experienced and witnessed, has been removed by the News Journal administrator...do you REALLY NEED FURTHER PROOF THAT FAITHFUL FRIENDS AND THE NEWS JOURNAL ARE IN BED TOGETHER???? THANKS NEWS JOURNAL FOR PROVING MY POINT!!!!
How sad that the blog administrator censors people's comments - just what it is you are trying to hide? Then again, I noticed that the version printed in the paper was watered down - didn't mention that this poor animal was allowed to wander the Riverfront alone. I only hope some responsible person found this lovely cat and never returns him to this situation.
It sickens me to read the horrible comments about the loss of the ship’s cat from people who don’t even know all the facts.
Several volunteers did stay behind and searched for three hours by walking the length of the riverwalk and beyond. We did talk to a lot of people trying to find the cat that is very friendly and could be easily lured away. Since the cat is very attractive this is what we believed happened.
Flyers have been posted; more than 20 veterinarians have been notified with his description. We all feel very saddened by the loss of this cat.
We just wanted to plead with anyone that knows of Timmy’s whereabouts that he wasn’t abandoned and everyone has been searching for him and they deserve to get him back.
It is easy to characterize what happened by saying the owners were not very responsible. With the above facts known it should be seen that they are very responsible. Some are volunteers at animal rescue organizations and if just a few more people would donate an hour a month, a lot more abandoned and abused animals could be saved.
To this day, I follow advice my dad gave me when I was a teen: If you feel strongly enough about something, sign your name. Otherwise, it must not be that important to you.
If you want to make accusations about someone or some group, you're going to have to sign your name. Otherwise, send me proof to my e-mail address at jfredel@delawareonline.com, and we'll be happy to investigate.
Blogs or forums should not be a place to trash people or groups anonymously.
Hmmm, interesting. I recall reading blogs attatched to stories about teenagers who died in car accidents, and the comments were brutal and uncaring yet they stayed. Someone posts the truth about Faithful Friends and its removed, that doesn't make sense. I volunteered for quite a few months for them and the things I saw disgusted me. I sent my comments off in the form of a letter to the editor, but I very much doubt it will get printed. You want more proof they always need volunteers, send someone undercover who has knowledge of vet care and how an animal shelter should be run and you'll quickly find all the proof you need.
I have a suspicion that many of those anonymous comments were left by the same person trying to give the organization a bad name. Visit the place... meet the people. Form your own opinion. I think it's a wonderful place. This person is a little too emotionally invested in bringing down the place.
I just recently adopted a cat from Faithful Friends and I agree that they are completely disorganized. One hand doesn't know what the other is doing and it is completely frustrating especially when you're excited about your new pet but they make the whole experience so wrenching. I love my new cat but I will never go back there.
I also just adopted a cat (ironically enough, Timmynocky's brother) and it was VERY disorganized as the above comment reports. We went through the whole 30 minute adoption process and then I happened to look up at the white-board and noticed that my kitten already had another family's name next to it. We became #2 on the list for him. Then the first family backed out but when I went in again, one of the staff said she didn't know any one else wanted him and almost had taken him to Petco to have him adopted out there. I called or stopped by everyday to make sure he wasn't given away before we could take him (he was a bit under the weather and they wanted to keep an eye on him before release).
I do understand that there are many volunteers that are only there a few hours a month and I do appreciate their efforts. However, there should be some sort of log or computer data base in place that can be accessed & updated by all volunteers and staff for the most up-to-date adoption & health info on each pet. It seemed that they relied on memory, the white-board (that no one, in my experience, seems to update or look at) or word-of-mouth to communicate the status of pets. It was very frustrating but my kitten is wonderful. If Timmynocky is anything like his brother Henry, and he was taken by someone, I don't think they will get him back. He would be a terrific pet.
I too question the decisions of those who continue to put cats into this situation, as cute as it may be. The first cat on the Kalmar Nyckel may have been exceptionally smart and well-adapted for living on a boat and in a shipyard, but it's a poor situation to bring a small kitten into. However, I know caretaker Debbie Boerke (who was quoted in the story) and I have no doubt that she and the other volunteers on the ship were gut-wrenched over this and did everything they could to get him back.
You just can't keep a cat safe unless you keep it indoors and only let it out under supervision. In our extended family, there are 6 indoor-only cats and two indoor-outdoor cats. Both that go outdoors were raised that way, and once adopted by our family members would have been miserable being cooped up. However, both have had very bad brushes with disaster, one involving harassing a snake and the other involving a neurologial breakdown after eating a chipmunk with rat poison in its stomach. It's a calculated risk that you're taking with another life every time you let the cat outside.
I would NEVER take a kitten that could be an indoor-only cat and let it go outside. The Kalmar Nyckel crew should have asked Faithful Friends for an adult cat that had lived indoor-outdoor before; it would have been a much more suitable arrangement. Why they gave them a kitten is beyond me.
On the topic of Faithful Friends, I am sad to hear horror stories about them, but I can agree with those who state that you can't imagine how hard rescue work is unless you try it yourself. It is a VERY thankless job with very limited resources. But if any of you had a bad experience with Faithful Friends, you are welcome to come visit the cats at Forgotten Cats at the PetSmart stories in Christiana (where I volunteer) and Brandywine, and the DHA is always a great place to find a forever friend. All three are no-kill organizations. Forgotten Cats is unique in that we are all volunteer-run, with no paid employees. 100% of your donation or adoption fee goes to helping the cats.
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