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ONE
UNSPAYED FEMALE =
4,900 CATS IN SEVEN YEARS
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Spaying
and neutering is probably the most important thing you can do
for your new pet. We have all heard the arguments against these
procedures. So why should you? Pick your baby up and look deeply
into his/her eyes. Now, would you do anything to jeopardize his
health? Let's start with neutering. If this is done at an early
age, before the hormones ever kick in, you will eliminate a lot
of unwanted behaviour. We have many adult males that live in our
foster homes and none of them sprays. They simply don't know how
- not that they don't behave inappropriately at times - but they
never spray. A neutered cat will not go out roaming around at
night looking for that ever elusive female. They don't fight over
"turf," consequently they don't spread disease.
Why
spay? Actually, for many of the same reasons you neuter. First,
to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Spaying your cat will also lessen
the chances of her getting certain cancers. As for that tired
old argument "I want my children to see the beauty of childbirth,"
we have a stock answer. Let them watch, and then please rush them
to the shelter so they can watch the agony of death as all these
unwanted kittens are killed. Just one unaltered female can, and
all her female offspring can produce 4,900 more cats in seven
years if there is no human intervention. Do the math. Females
have 2.1 litters per year of 4.25 average kittens with a 40% mortality
of the kittens. If you are feeding stray cats, get them fixed!
Most
vets will not spay/neuter until the animal is 6 months of age
or older. Our kittens are all done at 2 pounds and 9 weeks of
age. This is a specialty done by clinics and shelters. It was
developed out of necessity to cut down the birth rate. The reason
vets don't operate at this early age is simply because they are
not trained to do so. The sex organs of a kitten are arranged
completely different from an adult cat. We have all ours done
at this early age because they are going into permanent homes
and we don't want to end up placing kittens from cats we've placed.
(It has happened before...but never again)
Every
hour 3,500 cats are born. 10-29 MILLION animals are euthanized
every year (this doesn't include strays or those who die in the
streets). Every 1.5 seconds a shelter animal is killed.
Only
one animal out of every three born in the U.S.A. gets a good home.
Only 2-3% of shelter cats are ever claimed by their owners due
to lack of I.D.
Accidental
births (I meant to get Muffin spayed/neutered, but I just ran
out of time) are the MAIN CONTRIBUTORS to the animal over
population problem.
The
ONLY way to stop overpopulation is to spay/neuter your pets. It
is a simple, inexpensive procedure. You can find low cost services
at your local animal shelter, S.P.C.A. or any recue group.
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Taken
from an article by Jeri Dopp - Safe Haven for Cats.
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For
more information, contact:
TOWN
CATS
PO Box 1828, Morgan Hill, CA 95038
Phone: (408) 779-5761
E-mail: towncats@garlic.com
