A Cautionary Tale
by: Cheryl Simpson
Karen had always wanted a kitten, but her mother was allergic to
cats. So, when Karen finished school and found a job and her very
own apartment, one of the first things she did was answer a "Free
Kitten" Ad from the local paper. Karen chose an adorable white
ball of fluff and christened her "Snowflake".
Intent on being the best possible mom to the kitten she loved,
Karen bought a cat-care book, and everything she needed to make
Snowflake feel at home.
Months went by, and Karen and Snowflake bonded beautifully. From
her reading, Karen knew that very soon she would have to have Snowflake
spayed, but it was an expensive operation, so she was very careful
to keep Snowflake inside while she saved up enough money. Unfortunately,
Karen's boyfriend was not so careful, and Karen was frantic to find
the sliding door open when she came home from work one day. Running
through the apartment, she found Snowflake happily asleep on top
of the bed, and breathed a sigh of relief. Snowflake was safe!
Not long after, however, Snowflake appeared to be gaining weight,
and Karen realized that her beloved kitty had indeed taken advantage
of that open door, and was now pregnant. "Oh well," thought
Karen, "It will be cute to have kittens. It shouldn't be hard
to find homes for them, and then I'll get that naughty girl spayed!"
And indeed, the kittens, when they came, were adorable, and Snowflake
was a great mother.
When the kittens were eight weeks old, Karen decided to put a "Free
to Good Home" Ad in the newspaper. (She was a bit surprised
to see several other identical ads beside her own.) Then she waited…And
waited…She asked all her friends, she asked at work, and she
put up posters. It seemed almost everyone she knew already had at
least one cat, and didn't want anymore.
Finally someone saw one of the posters and came to choose a kitten.
The woman seemed thrilled with her new kitten, and said she would
most certainly have her spayed, as soon as she had one litter, as
it was said to be healthier for an animal to have one litter first.
(FACT: Medical evidence indicates just the opposite. Spaying
a cat before she goes into heat even once greatly reduces the risk
of her developing mammary gland tumours, ovarian cancer, or uterine
cancer.)
A week later, Karen was delighted to hear from someone looking
for a kitten to give an elderly aunt as a surprise birthday present.
"What a wonderful idea!" thought Karen. Sadly, Karen never
found out that, after the birthday party, the aunt called her son
to come and get rid of the kitten. She had no time for it. He took
it to a farm and let it go. He knew farms always needed cats. (TWO
FACTS HERE: 1. Pets should never be given as surprise presents.
Instead, give a gift certificate to your local animal shelter so
that the person receiving the gift can make her own choice. 2. A
pet dumped at a farm will probably not survive. It is not accustomed
to fending for itself, and the cats already on that farm will protect
their food source from any intruder.)
Karen had only two kittens left, but they were getting older now,
and more of a handful. Finally, a "friend of a friend"
agreed to take one, as long as it was white. (Her furniture was
white.) Karen breathed another premature sigh of relief. (Some months
later she learned from her friend that the cat had clawed and sprayed
the white furniture, and his owner had thrown him out.) No one knew
where he was now. (FACT: If a cat is picked up by an animal
control officer its chances of being reclaimed are slim. Only 2
- 15% of stray cats are ever reclaimed by their owners.)
Karen received no more phone calls. She loved her one remaining
kitten, but knew she couldn't afford to keep him. Reluctantly, she
took him to the local animal shelter. She thought it odd that she
had to pay a fee to relinquish him. He was so cute and adoptable.
He certainly would find a home soon, wouldn't he ? The person behind
the desk sighed and said they would do their best, but the shelter
already had sixty-five cute adoptable cats, and there were no guarantees.
Karen felt badly, but, after all, what else could she do? She did
determine there and then, however, to make an appointment the following
week to get her beloved Snowflake spayed.
Imagine her surprise when the vet looked her in the eye and said,
"You do realize, this cat is pregnant ?" (FACT:
A female cat can get pregnant three to four weeks after having a
litter.)
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About The Author
This "cautionary tale" was written
by Cheryl Simpson of "Feline Friends Network" in
Stratford, Ontario, to underline the current cat overpopulation
problem. As a cat lover, you are probably well aware of the
importance of spaying and neutering, and have no doubt heard
the often publicized statistic "In seven years, one female
cat and her offspring can theoretically produce 420,000 cats."
Our group, "Feline Friends Network" was formed last
year by local OSPCA volunteers who realized that, even though
our shelter never adopts out unaltered cats, the overpopulation
problem is too large to be solved by adoption alone. The mandate
of FFN, therefore, is three-pronged :
- To educate the public as to the necessity
of spaying and neutering their cats
- To help reduce pet relinquishment by
supporting owners with practical advice that might help
them keep their cat
- To implement various spay/neuter programs
in our area.
We have already run a successful low-cost
for low-income spay/neuter program, and are currently working
on a Trap/Neuter/Return program to humanely reduce the feral
cat population. While FFN does not yet have our own website,
we are always interested in sharing information, and can be
reached by accessing the Perth County OSPCA website at www.ospcaperth.com.
(Please state that your email is for Cheryl Simpson of Feline
Friends Network.)
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