We recently had a stray female Tabby cat show up at our house, and soon after, she brought her only kitten, spitting image of herself, and also a girl. After checking with neighbors we determined she is another drop-off case. Since we live in farm-country, we have a lot of fields, woods, barns, outbuildings, and lots of stray cats. You drive up and down the road, and see cats at almost every farm and house. Our house seems to have been involuntarily dubbed the "Cat Sanctuary" because we have had many a stray cat over the years show up. Most have stayed, and others have only visited for short periods before leaving. Currently, we have 2 indoor cats, and 8 outdoor cats. We have had litter after litter of kittens from 3 stray females (The first one is long gone, after having only one litter, the last of which resides in our house, the main culprit having finally passed from old age, and the other is fixed). One year we had 24 kittens. Eventually we ran out of homes and places to put up posters. So, we got stuck with various cats from various litters. We managed to fix all of our females and one of our males. And then 2 toms cats were dropped off, a stray Tom cat showed up recently and now these two females. The point I'm trying to make? There are too many cats.
I love all the cats I have, and I know they are all here for a reason, but it makes me sad each time a stray wanders into our yard, because I know that it wasn't wanted by someone else. These cats are thrown away because there are simply too many of them, and they are left to survive on their own, afraid of people, and produce more offspring, who are just as unwanted as their parents. And why is this the case? Because owners don't spay or neuter their cats.
One female cat and her mate can produce 11,606,077 kittens in 10 years. It is no wonder there are strays everywhere and the shelters are full to bursting. If every cat owner fixed their cat, there would be less unwanted cats on the planet, and even less in Shelters. About 2.7 million cats and dogs-one every 11 seconds-are euthanized in Shelters each year. If you stop and think about it, that's insanity.
I'm calling owners to be responsible, and to get their pets spayed or neutered today. Getting your pet fixed is not as complicated as people make it out to be. Watch local shelters closely for spay/neuter specials. Our shelters will run weekly and monthly specials for spaying and neutering, and I've seen prices as low as $25 for a male cat. Vets will offer payment plans and sometimes even give you a discount on stray animals. If money is tight, find areas in your budget that you can cut back on until you have enough to make an appointment. Go without cable TV for a while, don't go out to eat or buy items that you can live without. You know the old saying; "Where there's a will, there's a way."
There are steps you can take to ensure your dog/cat does not reproduce until you are able to get him/her fixed. When your female cat/dog goes into heat, keep them away from other animals as much as possible. We have had to kennel our females until their heat cycles end, and while we awaited vet appointments. If your dog is in heat, don't let her go outside unsupervised, or without a leash. If your cat is in heat, keep her locked away until she's through, and make a speedy appointment at the vets office. When we fix our cats we ask the vet for dissolvable stitching so we don't have to drive back to the Hospital a second time just to get stitches removed. Do your research and form a plan that best suits you. In the end, it is well worth it.
Spaying and neutering can also help solve other problems like territorial/aggressive behavior,
wandering away from home, and peeing in the house during the heat cycles. So really, it's a win-win situation.
Go online and search shelters, rescue organizations, and phone local vet offices to find out the cost of spaying/neutering and make an appointment now. You'll be doing yourself, your pet, and your fellow man a favor.
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