I"m just going to say it, I'm not a cat person. See here. I've discovered however, that my fear is basically of unknown cats. Some of my friends have cats, and the more I am around these cats, the less I feel like running in terror. Perhaps it is just that I am now able to read cat behaviour a little better, and I know when they are going to pounce (not always though). Anyway, what I"m saying is, I'm slightly less scared of cats, but still slightly afraid. ANYHOO.
There are so many cats at the shelter during this time of year; they come in droves. Every week there is a new batch of kittens, who thankfully get adopted pretty quickly, because they are so EFFIN CUTE. I like when I stand at the desk by their cage, and all of a sudden I feel a sharp pain in my thigh/back, and try to turn around, only to discover that a kitten has attached a claw to me through the cage. Crafty devils. None the less, they are freakin cute.
Why don't a lot of people spay or neuter their cats? Seriously! A lot of people let their cats roam about at night, and did you know a female cat can have up to 3 litters a year? THAT's A LOTTA CATS. You can easily imagine how this could quickly turn into thousands of cats. It is so irresponsible as a pet owner to have an unfixed cat roaming the neighbourhood. This results in stray cats, feral cats! I mean, half the cats that come into the shelter, let's face it, more than half, cannot be adopted out, because a) there is no room, and b) they are FERAL. You think regular cat claws are scary? Wait till you meet, Old Feral Sammy, who has been living in a field with no human contact for two years. He will claw your face off, because dammit, he liked that field!
This irresponsibilty on the part of humans, the species who are able to logically connect the dots in this situation, is astounding. I'm just going to say it: do you know how many cats are euthanized at shelters each year around this time? SO MANY. And people want to get all up on their soap box and starting blaming the shelters, but the fact of the matter is, there is no room for the thousands of cats that come in every summer. People need to take responsibility for their own pets. If you don't want to spay or neuter, then don't let the cat out to roam.
Stuff like this makes me so angry, because why? Why it is even a situation? If people can't afford to responsibly care for their pet, perhaps they shouldn't have one.
I read about this really amazing local animal group who are implementing a program where they catch feral cats, spay/neuter them, then release them back into the wild. Awesome! I love when people step it up. So kudos to that group (I can't find the article now!).
Definitely stop by a shelter if you are thinking of getting a cat. There are so many, the shelter is literally filled to the brink.
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