A Solemn Plea
02/14/05

It’s March; do you know where your cats are?  If you have cats that have yet to be spayed or neutered they are out there right now breeding (or are trying to get out there). The females will gestate for about two months and each will give birth to an average of 6 kittens.  They will come back into heat about 8 to 10 weeks later and most cats will finally stop cycling again in about September after giving birth to up to 3 litters over the season.  If their kittens do not have human contact within the first 3 to 6 weeks of their lives they will likely never make good pets and most will remain “feral”, having litter after litter of unwanted kittens. These poor animals live miserable lives, consumed with parasites, undernourished, and infected with a wide variety of viruses and bacteria.  They pass along many diseases to our pets as they come to our houses in search of food and shelter; spreading the misery.

In the United States we destroy 6 to 8 MILLION unwanted pets each year.  That is an enormous mountain of dead pets created by our poor stewardship of these innocent animals.  The numbers of unwanted pets continues to rise across the country.  Even if there are limitless funds available for sterilization surgeries and animal control, the solution will require a vast majority of us to commit to sterilizing (or destroying) enough of these feral animals to stay ahead of the reproductive curve.  The answer lies with the collective will of individuals in society.  This spring, please help stop the suffering and be part of the success story.  Take the time to get your pets spayed and neutered before they reproduce.  By the way, if you feed’em, they’re dependent on you – they’re yours!  DS Animal Hospital welcomes your comments on this difficult issue.