Pinkbear, I bought the Metacote trap to catch the mum and kittens just in time to treat them for cat flu. They now live in my back room. If I'd managed to borrow a trap sooner, maybe they wouldn't have had flu. Luckily, they seem to be getting better.
I understand that traps are in demand and don't mind being told that organisations don't have any to loan. But the local CP didn't say this, just "call back next week". I would have known where I stood if they'd said, "sorry, we can't help, we have no traps available."
Having my own trap is a great help, now getting neutering vouchers is proving a problem. I called the CP about this some time ago. I'm still waiting.
Mark, I wasn't suggesting that you give up rescue work, just that you have a lot going on right now and may be under extraordinary stress. You deserve a break. If you don't look after yourself, you won't be able to look after the puddies.
Sharon, there's a difference between feeling like you're banging your head against a brick wall when people just won't listen or can't be bothered when you try to persuade them to neuter, and being brusk with someone who wants to know what will happen to a cat they're concerned about, but can't keep, as seems to be the case with the woman who called Mark out.
Anyway, as I'm so new to rescue and do it on such a small scale, I don't claim to understand the difficulties faced by those of you who face it day in day out. Keep up the good work, but maybe chill sometimes.