Elizabeth traps feral cats every month or so and gets them fixed by the Feral Cat Coalition. This month (today actually) we brought in 3 cats. Two toms and a female kitten. We will release the boys tomorrow back to the colony and the female the following day. I'm not sure how many we have trapped total, but I'd guess at between 40 and 50 cats. I've heard of people bringing that many in each month, but we can only handle about 4 cats at a time.
Some people have asked us why we do this. "Their just cats" is one response I have heard. I've also heard others say that if we didn't feed them they would go away. The non-feeding farce I'll address first and then we can talk about why it is that we do the clinics.
If is commonly heard that if you don't feed the cats they will just go away. Unless their is another food source close by, they will not move. They will keep looking around where they are familiar and find food where they can. They will become more aggressive in their search for food. Even feral cats are domestic animals, reliant on humans for food. Now that their food has been removed they are becoming desperate for food. They begin attacking peoples backyard chicken flocks. They get into the trash, they get closer to you begging for food. Living for weeks with no food they get skinny and more vulnerable to disease. Fleas, ticks, mites all move in. The immune system weakens and FIV, URI and many other diseases can take hold. During these weeks without food they continue to have kittens. They find enough scraps to survive and continue to grow the cat population which strains the population more and they become more aggressive in their search for food. Does this sound like a humane way to treat these poor beasts that did nothing wrong other than have an ancestor whose human abandoned them?
We are shepherds. It is our job to care for the Earth and her creatures. We are caring for the cats around here. We feed them because the very real scenario above gives us chills. Now, why do we bother to get them fixed and vaccinated? Well, the vaccinations are simple. If they get sick they can spread it to our domestic cats and again, having seen the effects of FIV, I don't want any cat to go through that. It is just humane. To explain why we fix them, let me draw you another picture.
A pair of kittens, 4 months old, are dumped in your neighborhood. They are both unfixed. One male, one female. At 4 months females go into their first heat and can easily become pregnant. The average cat has 4 kittens per litter and 2-3 litters per year. About one litter every 4-5 months. This pair has just 2 litters in the year. The first litter of 4 has 2 girls and 2 boys. We now have 6 cats. The mother cat can go into heat while she is still nursing and by the time the girls are 4 months old, they can go into heat as well. So now, we are 4 months into the year and we have 3 pregnant female cats who each have 4 kittens in their litter. 12 more kittens for a total of 18. This repeats itself again and or 5 months later we have 9 pregnant females and when their kittens are born we are at 36 new kittens. 50 kittens in a year. Some say this is conservative.
Ok. Now there are a few things you can do to help. First off, you can get any cats you care for that are not yet fixed, fixed. We don't need more stray and feral cats. Second, if you know of a stray or feral cat (one who is not cared for by someone else) then care for them and get them fixed as well. You can also donate money to the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon or any of the other feral cat organizations around. You can volunteer with one of them, trap any cats you care for, or talk to others you know who care for them about these options. A great way to help is to get your cat from a shelter instead of a pet store.
Pet stores sell cats that were bred (usually in not so great conditions) to be pets. If you get a cat from a shelter it is a cat who desperately needs a home. The shelters do not support the horrid conditions that breeders use. You can get a kitten, if that is what you want, and they are usually already fixed and vaccinated. These guys may have been found on the street and really need your care. Go shelter and feel good about what you are supporting.
