"The Right to Life"
September 18th is National Homeless Animal Day in the United States, but every day is homeless animal day for millions of cats and dogs throughout the world. The problem is universal but can only be tackled one area at a time, one step at a time.
In the United States, the biggest challenge is the education of the public to spay and neuter their pets. Until we all commit to this crucial task, we are all part of the problem and swimming upstream against a tide of unwanted kittens that will be dumped at a shelter, abandoned at a park or wildlife area or given to other humans who will perpetuate the problem.
The fact is that there are no native feral cats. They are a species bred in ignorance by humans too self-occupied or too lazy to deal with the sterilization of their pets. It is astounding in this day and age that there are still a number of people who subscribe to the "let them have a first litter" mentality.
Veterinarians universally agree that allowing a cat to have a litter before spaying her serves no useful purpose. The fact is that many veterinarians now believe that sterilization at a very early age is less traumatic for the cat and aids in better long-term health for both males and females.
What happens to these unwanted kittens? Sometimes they are lucky to find good homes, more often however, when they pass the "cute" stage with no home in site, the owners, usually with all good (though misguided) intentions, take them to a park or other area and dump them to fend for themselves. The survivors eventually find other unwanted cats and a new feral cat community is born. Within the community, the unaltered males fight, the females are bred, and more unwanted kittens are born. Many of the cats, both adults and kittens, die of starvation, disease, or injuries. Although we will probably not see an answer to the problem in our lifetime, great strides have been made is small areas.
Safe Haven for Cats, for instance, based in San Mateo County, California, has a great trap/neuter/adoption program. This organization, founded by Jeri Dopp and her large-hearted family, rescues feral kittens, gives them loving foster care until they are ready to be placed, then places them in loving homes through their Adoption Fairs held twice monthly. Oh yes, Jeri also sees that each kitten is neutered prior to adoption. The kittens shown on this page have either been adopted, or are waiting for adoption through The Homeless Cat Network.
The Feral Cat Coalition of San Diego has been in existence for five years, and during that period, San Diego Animal Control has seen a 50% decrease in the number of cats impounded and killed. Prior to the formation of the FCC, the number was increasing at a rate of 15% per year!
The FCC has spayed/neutered over 7500 cats in the past five years. Taking into account that an unspayed female can be responsible for the birth of 420,000 kittens in a seven-year period, it isn't hard to imagine the ramifications of their work. It has been proven by several studies that euthanizing a feral cat colony just plain doesn't work. The nature of feral cat communities is that when community cats are taken away, new ones move in. Therefore, the trap/neuter/release program seems to be the best one for containing the number of feral cats in any given colony.
Alley Cat Allies was established as the national feral cat network to promote humane feral cat population control in the U.S. through trap-sterilize-release programs with long-term supervision. This organization is the ultimate resource for assistance to caretakers working with feral cat colonies.
The success of these programs suggests that a managed, humane solution exists to the problem of feral cats. However, with an estimated 60 million homeless cats in the United States alone, obviously more help is needed.
- Find out if there is a homeless cat rescue organization in your area. If so, support them by donating your time and/or money.
- If there is no organization in your area, consider starting one. The Feral Cat Coalition web site contains substantial information to this end.
- Protest loudly when you hear of feral cats being killed inhumanely. Yours is not a voice in the wilderness. You will be surprised and delighted at the number of people who feel the same way as you do. Remember, in numbers there is power. As Jana Faucher says, "We must be their voice."
- Set an example of your love of animals by spaying/neutering your own.
- Spread the word in every way you can that euthenasia is not the answer to feral cat management. Start by supporting Alley Cat Allies.
Feral cats have a right to life. They have the right to be free from starvation, the right to be moved into a loving home at an early age, and the right to remain if they are entrenched in a colony. They have the right to be spayed or neutered, to protect the females from illness and malnutrition in giving birth, and to protect the males from injuries incurred in territorial fights. They cannot speak for themselves. We must be their voice!
Photos used with permission by Jeri Dopp of Safe Haven for Cats. Please do not use without permission.
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