30 Cats and counting :{

spook · Jun 13, 2006

Ok, I have a serious problem with cat population over here... Last year in the summer I had no cats, and now I have 30. In October, a beautifull black spring kitten was dropped off by my house and decided to adopt me, and a pregnant cat wandered over to my house (in the country) and had 6 kittens. In the spring of this year, the black female had 5 kittens but only one survived. The original mother had another 6 kittens, and the 4 females from her October batch each had 4 or 5 kittens, so in total I am now up to exactly 30 cats; 8 adults, and 22 kittens.

It's been total chaos over here this spring; cats everywhere, some of them not knowing who their mother or children are. The kittens will tank up to several different mothers, which is no surprise considering a few of the mothers had their kittens in the same boxes together.

So, my not so surprising question is, how do I explain the rhythm method to these guys? I am trying to find a home for the spring kittens since the first set is now 9 - 10 weeks old, but all the shops are full. I can't afford to keep more than 4 or so, and I can't afford to get them fixed or spayed either. The humane society is also full, and they tell me to call back every few days, but each time I get the same answer. Oh, and I'm also paying $23 for an 18kg bag of cat food, which lasts about a week and a half.

I'd really like some help here. I am not above putting some of them down, but it has to be humane and I don't know of any way of doing this short of spending $90 / cat at the vet. I won't make my problem somebody elses problem by dropping them off somewhere (not to mention probably starving the things in the process). The sad part is these guys are extremely healthy and cute.

Anyways, if somebody could give me some advice, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.

commonoddity042 · Jun 13, 2006

Originally Posted by spook

Ok, I have a serious problem with cat population over here... Last year in the summer I had no cats, and now I have 30. In October, a beautifull black spring kitten was dropped off by my house and decided to adopt me, and a pregnant cat wandered over to my house (in the country) and had 6 kittens. In the spring of this year, the black female had 5 kittens but only one survived. The original mother had another 6 kittens, and the 4 females from her October batch each had 4 or 5 kittens, so in total I am now up to exactly 30 cats; 8 adults, and 22 kittens.

It's been total chaos over here this spring; cats everywhere, some of them not knowing who their mother or children are. The kittens will tank up to several different mothers, which is no surprise considering a few of the mothers had their kittens in the same boxes together.

So, my not so surprising question is, how do I explain the rhythm method to these guys? I am trying to find a home for the spring kittens since the first set is now 9 - 10 weeks old, but all the shops are full. I can't afford to keep more than 4 or so, and I can't afford to get them fixed or spayed either. The humane society is also full, and they tell me to call back every few days, but each time I get the same answer. Oh, and I'm also paying $23 for an 18kg bag of cat food, which lasts about a week and a half.

I'd really like some help here. I am not above putting some of them down, but it has to be humane and I don't know of any way of doing this short of spending $90 / cat at the vet. I won't make my problem somebody elses problem by dropping them off somewhere (not to mention probably starving the things in the process). The sad part is these guys are extremely healthy and cute.

Anyways, if somebody could give me some advice, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.

Where are you located?

callista · Jun 13, 2006

I certainly hope you are not serious about wanting to put down the cats. I understand they are a big problem for you; but they can be managed, and such drastic steps need not be taken.

You want to adopt these cats out ASAP; but 30 cats takes a while and you will have to neuter them in the meantime, or else you will probably have over a hundred cats before the year is up. You say you can't afford to neuter the cats, but there are an awful lot of resources out there for people with just that sort of problem.

If you're paying $23/week and a half for cat food, it will be much cheaper to neuter in the long run because you will not have to care for these cats' offspring--neutering 30 cats is a lot cheaper than feeding 100 for an undetermined time, especially since those cats will become more and more wild and thus unadoptable as time goes on. There are a lot of cheap spay/neuter programs around; they may even be free or very low-cost for you, since what you have is essentially a semi-feral cat colony, probably socialized on the same level with the average barn cat--not hopelessly wild, but getting there.

If you must wait to spay/neuter, you could separate males and females by building some sort of chicken-wire enclosure to keep one gender in. But really, this would just be a short term solution, because eventually someone will get out and you will have another six kittens on your hands.

I recommend that if you cannot get all of the cats done at the same time (as you would with feral cats during a TNR clinic) you might get the females done first, because some of them might be in the early stages of pregnancy, and you don't want to wait for late pregnancy--spaying cats during late pregnancy is thought to be more dangerous than early pregnancy (which is only as risky as normal spaying) though I haven't seen proof yet.

Adopt the cats out, and--here's the important thing--demand adoption fees. You will recoup some of the cost of the cats' care and neutering; and you will be sure of not giving the cats away to someone who will kill them, abuse them, or sell them to a lab--because people who sell cats to labs will only get about $20 per animal at most; and if you charge more than that to adopt, it isn't profitable for them.

spook · Jun 13, 2006

Originally Posted by CommonOddity042

Where are you located?

Ontario, Canada

spook · Jun 13, 2006

Originally Posted by Callista

I certainly hope you are not serious about wanting to put down the cats. I understand they are a big problem for you; but they can be managed, and such drastic steps need not be taken.

You want to adopt these cats out ASAP; but 30 cats takes a while and you will have to neuter them in the meantime, or else you will probably have over a hundred cats before the year is up. You say you can't afford to neuter the cats, but there are an awful lot of resources out there for people with just that sort of problem.

If you're paying $23/week and a half for cat food, it will be much cheaper to neuter in the long run because you will not have to care for these cats' offspring--neutering 30 cats is a lot cheaper than feeding 100 for an undetermined time, especially since those cats will become more and more wild and thus unadoptable as time goes on. There are a lot of cheap spay/neuter programs around; they may even be free or very low-cost for you, since what you have is essentially a semi-feral cat colony, probably socialized on the same level with the average barn cat--not hopelessly wild, but getting there.

If you must wait to spay/neuter, you could separate males and females by building some sort of chicken-wire enclosure to keep one gender in. But really, this would just be a short term solution, because eventually someone will get out and you will have another six kittens on your hands.

I recommend that if you cannot get all of the cats done at the same time (as you would with feral cats during a TNR clinic) you might get the females done first, because some of them might be in the early stages of pregnancy, and you don't want to wait for late pregnancy--spaying cats during late pregnancy is thought to be more dangerous than early pregnancy (which is only as risky as normal spaying) though I haven't seen proof yet.

Adopt the cats out, and--here's the important thing--demand adoption fees. You will recoup some of the cost of the cats' care and neutering; and you will be sure of not giving the cats away to someone who will kill them, abuse them, or sell them to a lab--because people who sell cats to labs will only get about $20 per animal at most; and if you charge more than that to adopt, it isn't profitable for them.

To me, the most important thing is to first prevent the females from having kittens. There are one or two other male cats walking around which don't belong to me; so neutering the males probably won't help.

I live in Ontario; I am not sure there are such programs to help with problems like mine, except maybe the SPCA; they don't seem too interested right now.

jlutgendorf · Jun 13, 2006

Animal Crusaders of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Phone: (416) 438-4636
Email: [email protected]
Referral to low cost vets

Here's one place to start with, it looks like they can give you referrals to other low cost vets. I would call, call, call and explain your situation explicitly, so they understand how serious it is and see what people can do to help you. Realize that a lot of places you call or email won't get back to you right away. That doesn't mean they can't or don't want to help you. It just means they're busy. Just keep calling and emailing.

In terms of adopting kittens out, go to www.craigslist.org and see if they have a city near you and post kittens up for adotion in their pet section. Always ask for an adoption fee. You can call it the "Spay the mom fund".

Good luck getting everyone speutered and adopted!
I know others will be along with more ideas.

~Julia

kittycity81 · Jun 13, 2006

I really feel for you Spook...I know that it probably became very overwhelming for you very quickly.We have 6 cats and it feels like we are constantly on the go and always buying food/litter/toys/bowls,etc.So I can't imagine how it would be with 30.The problem with having so many cats are that they will keep producing and then the offspring will keep producing and it will be come EVEN more overwhelming.If I were you I would call your local SPCA and explain your situation to them,let them know that you are in need.And also maybe you could try contacting a local Vet in your area and explain your situation to them and maybe somewhere along the line somebody will help you.Don't be ashamed to ask for help...

And also don't give up on them,keep us updated!

jlutgendorf · Jun 13, 2006

http://www.actionvolunteersforanimals.com/
http://www.annexcatrescue.on.ca/
http://www.catstoronto.com/
http://www.jazzpurr.org/
http://www.bmts.com/~osas/osas.html

Here's a few other places to look, though they're from all over Ontario and may not be near you.

~Julia

wookie130 · Jun 13, 2006

You are in quite a predicament. Rest assured that if the cats are not altered soon, the problem will keep growing and growing beyond anything you can do to control it. A breeding pair and their offspring can produce 420,000 cats in a period of just 7 years. That is scary, and completely unnecessary...please look into having each and every cat spayed and neutered. The more you have, the cheaper it could be, depending on where you look. The other posters have given you some great recommendations.

Good luck!

tnr1 · Jun 13, 2006

Originally Posted by spook

Ok, I have a serious problem with cat population over here... Last year in the summer I had no cats, and now I have 30. In October, a beautifull black spring kitten was dropped off by my house and decided to adopt me, and a pregnant cat wandered over to my house (in the country) and had 6 kittens. In the spring of this year, the black female had 5 kittens but only one survived. The original mother had another 6 kittens, and the 4 females from her October batch each had 4 or 5 kittens, so in total I am now up to exactly 30 cats; 8 adults, and 22 kittens.

It's been total chaos over here this spring; cats everywhere, some of them not knowing who their mother or children are. The kittens will tank up to several different mothers, which is no surprise considering a few of the mothers had their kittens in the same boxes together.

So, my not so surprising question is, how do I explain the rhythm method to these guys? I am trying to find a home for the spring kittens since the first set is now 9 - 10 weeks old, but all the shops are full. I can't afford to keep more than 4 or so, and I can't afford to get them fixed or spayed either. The humane society is also full, and they tell me to call back every few days, but each time I get the same answer. Oh, and I'm also paying $23 for an 18kg bag of cat food, which lasts about a week and a half.

I'd really like some help here. I am not above putting some of them down, but it has to be humane and I don't know of any way of doing this short of spending $90 / cat at the vet. I won't make my problem somebody elses problem by dropping them off somewhere (not to mention probably starving the things in the process). The sad part is these guys are extremely healthy and cute.

Anyways, if somebody could give me some advice, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.

I would contact The Best Friends Network and explain your situation....hopefully they can send out an email to network members to let them know about your situation and hopefully some people will be able to assist you.

(435) 644-2001 ext 123, or e-mail them at [email protected]

I would also contact local vets and ask if they would possibly 'donate' a spay or neuter so you can begin to stabilize the numbers.

Here are some TNR groups in Canada:

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html#c

The goal should be to get these cats fixed first and then try to rehome them.

Katie

spook · Jun 13, 2006

Thanks everybody for your help so far. I have emailed some of the organizations you have listed; some are too far away to help (I live about an hour south of Toronto).

I especially appreciate the warnings about charging money (to individuals) to filter out the "lab" guys.

goldenkitty45 · Jun 13, 2006

You also might want to contact some local CFA, TICA, ACFA, etc. cat clubs and explain the situation. Perhaps they will find it in their hearts to hold a fund raiser to help you out.

katkisses · Jun 13, 2006

Maybe run some ads in a few local newspapers? "Cat to good home only, call ###-####"

princesstiffany · Jun 13, 2006

Ohhh...I'm so sorry! Please don't put them down though....Keep us posted!

momof3rugratz · Jun 13, 2006

I think once they are fixed you should do the adoption thing... Start with all the females first....

catloverin_ks · Jun 13, 2006

Originally Posted by KatKisses

Maybe run some ads in a few local newspapers? "Cat to good home only, call ###-####"

PLEASE dont do that, espically advertising FREE!! Thats not good! There has got to be a solution or some help out there, for you. For sure the females need fixed ASAP!! Dont put them to sleep, please...instead of wasting $$ on that, spend it on spaying one or two at a time. Keep us posted as well, and best of luck!!

katkisses · Jun 13, 2006

No, no, no! I didn't say free! Maybe for about $30-40!!!

halfpint · Jun 13, 2006

There's someone out there that will help, you just have to ask the right people, I had 16 I took in and with the help of this site and information, that's when I joined this site and the people here are wonderful, I could not have gotten through it without this site. I got them all to the vet, spayed neutered, shots, tested, I had help from Actors and friends for animals, H.O.P.E ( helping out pets everyday, private donation from people who heard I needed help and some people that work for other organizations. 6 of those 8 are in my siggy It took me a year from start to finish just getting them, It can be done. I Love all of mine to death, it was the hardest year I ever had. I just knew I could not leave them in that busy shopping center parking lot. This is not something anyone does for pats on the back it's for the Love of the animals, Please don't have them put to sleep.

jen · Jun 14, 2006

Advertize on petfinder.com in their free classifieds section or in your newspaper. If you can find one of these low cost places to get your cats done, then charge that amount for the adoption fee and you will at least come out as close to even as possible.

30 Cats and counting :{

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