Last year’s offspring ending up in shelters

IT’S. THAT time of year again,

and‘ animal welfare groups are .

bracing themselves for the
annual onslaught of hameless
female cats and kittens. -

By Judy Stone’

“.: Contributing Writer’

In the last:ten days the North
- Shore Humane Society (NSHS) has
” placed three pregnant Strays in fos-

“. ter homes, and it’s only mid-April.

» ~-People often ask us, “Where do
:; all these cats come from?” :
. It’s no mystery, really...

.They’re the kittens that were.

born fast -year, to people. who
* should know by now that’ every kit-

‘ten born and ‘adopted out means one

less home for an adult cat:

- Most. people’s ‘first: choice i ‘isa.

~ kitten — if there’ were no kittens

“available, people who wanted « cat’
“would have to take a homéless one,
s froma shelter, where hundreds wait,

“patiently in cages for the mandatory «

‘number of days to, pass before they.

a are’ put down.

:There’s: ‘something: d disturbingly ‘

“wrong with‘ allowing thousands of -
kittens to be born every year, when’:

*-:. thousands of ‘adult cats have to be _

“killed because there are no homes *

available for them.“The people who,
let: their cat t breed usually, advertise

“free kittens," and then give the kil-

tens away to the first takers, Bul!

people who are looking for a “free”
kitten and who don't want to make
a donation to a rescue organization,
are also offen too cheap to pay for
vaccines, dewormirg, good food or

neutering.

Without rescue groups neutering
hundreds ‘of cats a year, the North
Shore would have a serious wild ca
problem.

In the previous 15 months the
NSHS has had 83 cats: neutered or
spayed. Other groups, such as Aid

-to’Animals in Distress and Pets

Ltd., Have been doing this work for

‘years, yet the numbers increase and‘:

the problem worsens as our society

* becomes increasingly transient.

Until the shelters are empty,
there’s no justification for not hav-

‘ing your cat neutered. A neutered
male cat can’t get cancer of the tes-

ticles. A spayed female cat can’t

‘get cancer of. the ovaries or the

uterus and is less likely to get can-
cer of the mammary glands.‘
“And both sexes are less likely to

- wander and get hit by a car,-or lost,
or eaten by a.coyote. They’re also
less likely to catch any deadly.
‘viruses through fighting. And as for.

the idea that just.one litter is

“good”. for the female cat - —— what

hogwash!.
“Cats aren’t able, to miss what

they don’t know. No female cat
lunguishes around wishing she
could hear the patter of litte paws,

In fact. fernales that have had a
Vitter are more tikely to be anti-
social with other cats, and less
happy, than those that were spayed
at six months.

Last year, our first year of
arranging foster homes for cats, 24
cats and their kittens were fostered
by volunteer families. At seven
weeks the kittens get their first set
of vaccines, and the mother gets
spayed, her ear tattooed, and her,
vaccines, Then we find responsible
homes for them all.

Adopters must agree to our stan-

dards of care and to have their kit--

ten neutered at six months.

Thanks to the North Shore
News’ Adopt-A-Pet, feature, we've
been able to find homes for 188
homeless pets.

Many of these animals were old
or infirm, and considered “impossi-
ble” to place.

Thanks are also due to the foster
families who took on the responsi-
bility of providing for 2 komeless
cat and her kittens. co

- Please contact us (926-2180) if.
you'd like to be one of these special.

families who are. part of the solu- ~

tion, not part of the-problem.
Judy Stone is the director of the
North Shore Humane Society.,

-© Kelly Kennedy.

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| The staff at North Shore Crisis Services Society
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Lesley Davies is 2 a health reseaicher,’
free-lance writer and owner of the”
Happy Nut House Health Food Store in...
Surrey, BC. Lesley canbe contacted. at
(604) 583-3911. -