She had such a cute face,
this scrawny young cat that started coming to my house. My Adventure as a Kitty Foster Mom
by Shirley Butler
She had such a cute face, this scrawny young cat that started coming to my house.
This was in late August when it was so hot, 100+° week after week. She was friendly from the start - not afraid of me at all. A neighborhood stray, she'd either been abandoned or
was the kitten of another stray. Well, this precious cat, not yet a year old, decided to move to my porch. We have no children or outdoor pets, so our porch probably felt quiet and safe.
I didn't want to deal with her as I have a spoiled 3-year old indoor cat of my own, Rexie. But the stray was so dehydrated she could hardly meow. I started putting water out for her . . . no food . . . I didn't
want her hanging around, or so I told myself. But after a week I couldn't stand it anymore. There was nothing to her; she was about an inch wide at the shoulders. I could see her ribs. So I got some kitten food
and began feeding her when she came to the porch.
After about a week she became a totally vibrating purrbox (those of you with cats know what I mean!) and she had me hooked. But, one day my hubby was on the porch when she was laying down, and he commented that
he suspected she was 'in the family way'. Uh oh!
I managed, with minor injuries (to me) to get her into a box and off we went to my vet to confirm this unwelcome news.
Yep. Pregnant. Not only that, but they felt she had already had a litter, and that there were little kitties somewhere in the area.
As I said earlier, I didn't mean to get involved. But if I didn't get her spayed, there would be even more strays around our cul de sac. The vet suggested checking her first for feline leukemia (fatal and
easily spread). She tested negative, so we went ahead with the spay, and got her vaccinated for protection against the feline leukemia. This was September 9.
She stayed in my garage for three days, upon which we let her out and she recovered well. She disappeared for a couple of days, but then began coming back and I resumed feeding her.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 20, I got up, fed my Rexie, and then took some cat food out to the porch, where I was met, not just by my recently acquired stray kitty, but also, three little baby kitties
. . . just sitting there, waiting . . . . I called my hubby, received the mandatory, “told ya so's”, and took some pictures so the vet could tell me how old they were. (She estimated 4 - 5 weeks.)
Then two days later, on Thursday, there were two additional little bundles of fur (total of five). I think momma may have had them stashed in several areas, knew I was a soft touch and started bringing them in.
As of this writing, I've found homes for the four girls. No one wanted the little boy (now Loki), as all he did was hiss and growl when anyone tried to hold him!
The purpose of relating the above amusing (I hope) tale is to lead into the problem of stray and abandoned cats (and dogs also, but this is primarily about cats).
One startling fact from the SpayUSA Organization is that an un-spayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing 2 litters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can total:
1 year: 12
2 years: 67
3 years: 376
4 years: 2,107
5 years: 11,801
6 years: 66,088
7 years: 370,092
8 years: 2,072,514
9 years: 11,606,077
Note that it says “producing two litters per year”. When I took our stray to be spayed, the vet thought this would have been her third litter - - and she's not yet a year old!
Another factoid from SpayUSA is that a cat can have her first litter at the age of five months!
The Holidays are coming and children all over are going to be begging mommy and daddy for that cute kitty or precious puppy. “I'll take care of it, I promise!”
Please think seriously about bringing home an animal. There are a lot of considerations and sometimes not a lot of thought is given.
According to SpayUSA, the average life of an outdoor cat is around two years, an indoor cat is 18 -20 years. The average life of a small dog is 12-15 years, whereas for a large dog it's 8 - 10 years. Adopting
an animal is a serious long-term commitment!
They also tell us the main five reasons pets are returned to shelters
1. Allergies
2. Life Changes (Moving, Divorce, New Baby, Kids Going To College).
3. Litterbox Problems/Housebreaking .
4. Behavior Problems (Scratching Furniture, Eating, Digging In Houseplants)
5. Not Enough Time For Animals
Jan Jones, the North County Humane Society Director Of Operations, told us that although up to approximately 300 - 400 cats are adopted yearly, the shelter is currently housing over 200 cats. They are full to
capacity now, and will most likely be full for the near future. “If people don't start spaying and neutering their animals, the stray situation, which is currently really bad, will only get worse,” she
emphasized.
I asked Dr. Eric Anderson of San Luis Obispo County Animal Services, about the overpopulation problem and the number of animals having to be euthanized. “The issue of overpopulation is substantial”, he said,
“but we've done really well compared to some years ago.” He cited that in 1995, for instance, there were approx 3,440 cats and dogs euthanized. Last year that number was down to 360 dogs and cats. “This
includes animals brought in injured, sick, feral or totally unadoptable. We haven't had to euthanize an adoptable animal in about two years.”
“People need to take responsibility for their pets”, he stressed.
A good idea for when you do decide to adopt a pet, is that instead of buying from a pet store, try going to one of the shelters. You'll find both mixed and purebreds. In addition to the shelter in North County
and Animal Services in San Luis Obispo, there are two that we've spoken to, who have plenty of animals. They are Woods Humane Society and Homeless Animal Rescue Team (HART).
Unfortunately, we live in a kind of “throw-away society”. If a vacuum cleaner breaks, instead of having it repaired, we buy a new one; if our hairdryer gets clogged, we ditch it and purchase another.
These animals aren't appliances or toys to be tossed aside. They are living, breathing bundles of joy (most of the time) that bring us years of pleasure. Please treat them with the respect they've earned!
PS: Anybody want a kitty? (Just kidding)