I think it's time to talk about the negligence of some cat owners. We live in the country. Every Spring and summer, we are seeing more and more stray cats. More times than not, we see kittens in twos or threes running around together. There is always a couple of adult strays sitting by the bird feeders waiting for a free meal.
We help where we can and have helped two ferel cats to be adopted, another one was taken to the Humane Society but was later put down because he couldn't get along with the other cats.
We have adopted two senior cats. One was found under a bridge hungry and scared. The other was found with his dead owner in an apartment. They are finally getting along together. We give them a lot of love and attention and it has brought them to a more relaxed state where they trust us now. The pictures above are our two cats. Missy is the black one and Chance is the big American Shorthair.
There are ways to help ferel cats. If you know of some wild looking, unkempt cats in your neighborhood here is a website that can help you to understand them better.
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/feral_cats/ The Care Taker's Guide
Remember most of these cats were once someone's pet who was abandoned or as in I wrote above were taken out into the country and let go alone and not at all used to living on their own. It is so sad to think of these unloved cats cold and hungry and scared out there fighting for food and maybe being eaten themselves.
We had adopted another older cat from a neighbor that was moving. This cat braved a busy road to come to our home daily for three months before our neighbor asked us if we wanted to adopt him. We had him three years before he just didn't come home one Sunday. He was a wonderful cat. I wish now we had kept him indoors...it would have made him miserable but at least he would still be alive. It is proven that cats allowed outside live a shorter life than those living inside. Of course that makes perfect sense.
The problem: people don't have their cats fixed when they are young resulting in over population of unwanted cats.
The solution: Fix those cats before they become pregnant. Fix the males before they impregnate the females.
I hope this message is read as a reminder to the problem that not enough people think about. Please help if you can.
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