OMG! I've Created A Cattery!

Just to throw some stats into the equation, I foster for a feral cat charity in the UK, and we produce a leaflet about spaying. They did a table about how many kittens one female can produce, they based it on a low rate of only 2 litters a year (although they could have 3 or 4), only 2 male and 2 female kittens per litter and dont take the death rate into account. They worked out that just one female can be responsible for 10,924 kittens in 6 years (based on additional female cats giving birth, it would work out at 2731 females).
Plus the health risks due to fighting, FIV, FeLV, abscesses

HI! Thanks for the care you are giving these cats. 2 other resources:

Alley Cat Allies - can be found on the web. You email for information,
and they send you a list back of "Feral Friends".

check the email they send you with a listing of "feral Friends". These are people with traps willing in many cases to help come trap, and MAYBE one of them will help link you up to low cost spay etc. AND help transport.

Worth a shot. Someo of the feral friends helped me when I needed it.

Also, try with 1-800-spay usa for low cost spay neuter in your
area. Trying calling them and seeing if there is a group that
they can refere you to... that will assist you.

Hope these ideas are also helpful.

Originally Posted by KittKatt

I certainly didn't mean to start a debate when I posted this thread.

I understand the point y'all are trying to make, and as I've already said, I agree to a certain point. I sure don't have any intention of becoming involved in any way of potentially being responsible for hundreds of unwanted cats: I'm trying to help the poor furbabies - not make it worse. But I can't find it in my heart to let any of them go hungry: I'VE been homeless & hungry before, and I know what it's like. It is not something I would wish on anyone - not even a cat.

I will continue to research what options may be available to us, and do the best with what I find...

~KK~

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Sorry it's turned into a debate - I did take it to the IMO forum where it should be.

That said... I do have a "but".... ....but the problem is the difference between a person being homeless and hungry and a cat being homeless and hungry is that a person isn't driven by instinct to mate with any male she comes into contact with when she's in heat, and a human person can make the informed decision to seek out resources to help, and a human woman usually doesn't have more than one child at a time, and a human woman cannot have more than one birth a year.

As both hissy and I pointed out, if you aren't feeding the cats, then they'll look elsewhere for food - and they may well wind up with someone that is getting them neutered and spayed. If our neighbors were feeding cats and not "speutering" them, they would have multiplied like crazy - whereas, if they weren't feeding them, the cats would probably have found their way to us, and they would have then been speutered. And if the neighbor had called around to several of the local vets, a couple of them would have taken her name and number, contacted us, and we'd have been able to go help.

I didn't know about TNR when the first stray turned up in our yard either. But I learned about it here - and got involved - which is how I've wound up as a TCS Advisor in this forum. And in my first post in this thread, I hope I was successful in my intent, which was to share links to helpful information about the problem of homeless cats, the pet overpopulation problem, and its solution - Trap, Neuter, Release.

The response of wanting to continue to feed cats or feeling it's OK to feed cats without working to sterilize them was what I reacted to.

I'm so sorry to hear about your health. We've had on-going problems with Gary's health, and it can be devastating.

We, too, know what it is to struggle. Thankfully, before we moved and Gary started having really serious health problems that have devastated us financially, we'd TNR'd all the cats that turned up, adopted out all the kittens, and the adults had either taken off and weren't there to feed anymore, been adopted out as barn cats, or, in the case of one older feral, been adopted to an understanding home. We even funded the start-up of a no-kill shelter (that now has local, State and other private funding in place). Now that we cannot afford to trap, spay or neuter them, we are not putting food out for cats.

As Amy pointed out in the IMO thread, education is the problem. I'm so glad you're learning about TNR now, and I hope we can get you hooked up with someone or a group that can help.

Laurie

My health problems have definitely been a big factor in all of this, b/c any doctor's office visits and all the meds I'm having to take have to be paid for out-of-pocket. I have no health insurance, and being unable to work any longer was not a planned thing. If I would have known that I wouldn't be able to work some day, I guess I would have prepared for it better. But it's too late now...

Be that as it may, I was ignorant of the entire TNR thing: I was doing what I could with the knowledge I had - which wasn't much. Most of what I did learn came from reading stuff at TCS. I am now glad that I posted this thread, b/c maybe now I'll be able to get somewhere. I have always fed strays whenever I noticed any roaming around, and almost every cat I ever had was an adopted stray or one that I adopted from the animal shelter: but I've never had as many as I do now. Of course I've never lived in a neighborhood such as the one I'm living in now, where people just don't care and aren't responsible for their pets..

Again, any info is appreciated, and I will do what I can on my end with the info provided..


~KK~

I sorta skimmed most of this thread. I'm willing to admit that. I'd like to add this.

When the time came to fix our barn cats, I called several vets in the area. One of them gave me a discount on 10+ cats. Half the cost on everything!

I encourage you to call around to see if any vet clinic will work with you. It's worth a shot.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

I sorta skimmed most of this thread. I'm willing to admit that. I'd like to add this.

When the time came to fix our barn cats, I called several vets in the area. One of them gave me a discount on 10+ cats. Half the cost on everything!

I encourage you to call around to see if any vet clinic will work with you. It's worth a shot.

Click to expand...

If you can find the time and can use the car, it may even really even be worth driving around to a few. As someone pointed out somewhere else, many vets will say "no" on the phone, as people ask about strays - and then bring in their pet cats - but if you're there in person, and let them know it'll be around 10 ferals over time, they're sometimes more willing to make the deal.

...but let's see what we kind find. Maybe you can do better than that.

Laurie

Originally Posted by KittKatt

My health problems have definitely been a big factor in all of this, b/c any doctor's office visits and all the meds I'm having to take have to be paid for out-of-pocket. I have no health insurance, and being unable to work any longer was not a planned thing.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what happened to us. No health insurance for a time. It was INSANE how much everything costs!!!!!! Being sick without health insurance definitely breaks the bank.



Laurie

I am pretty sure strays/ferals have a kitty grapevine as to whose house has free grub!

The following is part of a PM that I sent to LDG (who has been kind enough to help out in the crusade in getting my strays neutered/spayed), which I just copied & pasted instead of re-typing the entire thing again..

.

I contacted few other vet clinics in the area, and none of them offer any discount or low cost neutering/spaying programs for strays. BUT, I contacted MY vet's office again, and actually spoke to my vet's wife this time. She gave me the number of the SPCA (which it turns out is not the place I was thinking of that abused animals: that was actually the local animal shelter - not the SPCA..

). ***A side note: This SPCA remark is in referance to a suggestion that LDG had made in a PM, in which I had told her I would not be willing to take the strays there, b/c they were shut down for animal abuse.*** Anyway, I explained the situation to her (the vet's wife), and she told me that they sometimes offer vouchers to low-income peeps who want to have strays fixed and all. She also told me if they can't help, that SHE would personally pay for Ma Cat to get spayed (but I'm not to let the vet know that..

), and that she would be able to get reimbursed through the SPCA.

Apparently, she has a few other clients who are having the same problem, but who also can't afford to have their strays fixed either.

And she's willing to help if she can..

I contacted the SPCA, but no one answered so I left a message: I'm waiting for them to call back, and we'll take it from there..

It's a start, and a step in the right direction. Also, my s/o knows of a retired vet in the area, whom he thinks might do the neutering/spaying for a low fee. He's gonna try and get ahold of him, to see what he says..

Right now, I'm more concerned w/ getting the females spayed, so they can't have any more babies. We'll work on getting the males neutered next..

So that's where things stand right now. I'll continue to see what else I can come up with.

~KK~

I got the PM, but just wanted to post to the thread, too.

You GO girl!!!!!!!!!!!

Like MA said - even if you trap-speuter (spay or neuter)-and release just one cat at a time, it's a start.



Laurie

Aww, that is wonderful. I do hope you get some positive news from them.

Absolutely fantastic news!! I've been following this thread and I'm so happy to hear you've found a solution that will work for everyone, both you and the cats.

Yay!!!

Oh Tiff, what absolutely WONDERFUL news! Persistence pays off!

I'm so glad you've found an option. That's often the hardest part. The next part is to just take things, as someone put it, one cat at a time.

Laurie

What a wonderful update, I am so glad you have been able to find a way to get them neutered, good on you.