Up to 60,000,000 homeless cats
Website design By BotEap.comThis is the estimated number of homeless cats roaming the US right now. Many were pets that the owners no longer wanted, so they were dumped somewhere. Even more are second, third or, if they can live that long, fourth generation ‘wild’ or feral cats.
Website design By BotEap.comJanuary and February are bad months at Cat Shelters. This is when the excitement of the kitten as a Christmas present fades and the reality of cleaning masses and daily feeding and training begins.
Website design By BotEap.comEstimates range from 4,000,000 to 14,000,000 cats euthanized in the US each year. That breaks my heart, but people who leave their unwanted kitties behind really piss me off. What they do is cruel and ruthless, leaving defenseless kittens or cats to fend for themselves in a harsh and dangerous environment.
Website design By BotEap.comAnd who pays for these shelters and the euthanasia of all these cats? You do. Even if you are not responsible for the problem.
Website design By BotEap.comMost citizens would never dream of abandoning a helpless animal. It is those few without scruples, or consciences, who create this enormous problem.
Website design By BotEap.comLet’s talk about some numbers for a minute. Let’s make the number of homeless feral cats equal to 50,000,000. We will make 50% of them reproduce females. There are 25,000,000 female cats that can give birth to two litters of an average of 5 kittens each year. That’s 10 kittens per cat each year for 25,000,000 breeding females. My calculator says there are an additional 250,000,000 feral kittens in the environment each year. So if half of them are females and they have 10 kittens per year plus the 25,000,000 females we started with… Unfortunately my calculator doesn’t go that high! In seven years, just ONE breeding pair of cats can produce 450,000 kittens.
Website design By BotEap.comThis problem is massive. The destruction of the environment and the damage to native wildlife and fauna are staggering. Cats eat around 5% of their body weight each day. Diseases spread by these unfortunate animals infect countless cared for pets.
Website design By BotEap.comSo what can be done. Some states have Trap, Neutral, Return programs. This does exactly what it says. Feral cats are trapped, neutered, and then returned to where they were found, as many of these feral cats have created colonies. This could be a great method of reducing the number of feral cats, but there are so many traps, so many people helping to catch these animals, and in no way can they have a big impact on that huge number. Also, some vets refuse to sterilize these cats because they don’t want them back outdoors, which is not a natural habitat for them. Other conservation groups say released animals can still decimate bird and small reptile populations and spread disease.
Website design By BotEap.comIt costs more than money to slaughter animals and people who are forced to do this day in and day out have a hard time. Many work in shelters because they love animals, not because they want to kill them.
Website design By BotEap.comIn Australia, there have been discussions about allowing pet stores to only sell neutered animals. The only people allowed to keep breeding cats must be registered breeders. Some counties have gone as far as allowing only neutered animals as pets. The jury is still out on this, but Australia has approximately 12,000,000 feral cats. Many people try to care for ‘their pack’ of feral cats by feeding them and making sure they are healthy. Some risk (and receive) injury by catching and bathing them or taking them to a vet. Some US states offer a bounty on feral cats.
Website design By BotEap.comIn the small rural town where I live, some women got together and raised funds to have cats sterilized for pet owners for free. The local vet did his part by charging only a minimal amount to cover his costs. In just a few years, these three women sterilized over 400 cats at no cost to the owners. Perhaps this is something that could be encouraged elsewhere.
Website design By BotEap.comThis problem is ours. It is of our creation. The cats did not ask to be abandoned. It is up to us to do something about it. I don’t have the answer. I hope I have made some of you aware of this problem, made you think about your values. I don’t apologize if I have upset you.
Website design By BotEap.comIf you have a cat, please tell me that it has been sterilized. Unless you intend to breed from it. And remember, a cat is for life. Often this will be up to 20 years. And if you love your cat, love will be returned tenfold.