Cats About Town Society Dedicated to stopping the suffering of homeless & abandoned cats & kittens P. O. Box 1224, Orangevale, CA 95662-1224  (916) 484-3700

Why Are There So Many Unwanted Animals? What Can You Do To Help Stop The Suffering? I can't afford to spay or neuter my cat. My cat is indoors only. I want my children to experience the miracle of birth. But, I want to breed my purebred pet to make money! Don't you have to let your cat have at least one litter before spaying her? Is my pet too old for spaying/neutering? My cat is male and won't have kittens. If my cat has kittens, I can always take them to the shelter or advertise them in the paper. What are the benefits of spaying and neutering? Why Are There So Many Unwanted Animals?  Over 70,000 puppies and kittens are born in the United States every day. There are simply not enough people to take care of them. Over 10 million dogs and cats in the United States are put to death (euthanized) each year in animal shelters because no one wants them. The vast majority of animals being destroyed are young, attractive, healthy, friendly, and playful. Some appear to be purebred. No figures exist for the number of animals who die each year due to abandonment, neglect, abuse, starvation, or cruelty because they are unwanted.  One unspayed female cat and her mate, and all their offspring, producing 2 litters per year, with only 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can total:  1 year: 12  2 years: 67  3 years: 367  4 years: 2,107  5 years: 11,801  6 years: 66,088  7 years: 370,092  8 years: 2,072,514  9 years: 11,606,077 What Can You Do To Help Stop The Suffering? Spay and Neuter Your Pets!  Encourage your friends, loved ones and neighbors to spay and neuter their pets.  Educate your children about the responsibilities of pet ownership. Support groups who work to control stray and feral animals through spay, neuter, and adoption programs. I can't afford to spay or neuter my cat. During the lifetime of your cat, you may spend thousands of dollars on food, accessories, and veterinary expenses. Spaying or neutering your cat is just a drop in the bucket. Most veterinarians try to keep charges for spaying and neutering affordable, but prices can vary. Call several veterinarians and spay/neuter clinics to check on costs for your cat. Remember, the one-time cost of spaying or neutering is minimal compared to the costs of repeated veterinary treatments for pets injured or contracting a serious disease when roaming or fighting. If you really believe you can't afford to spay or neuter your cat, but can afford the other expenses, please adopt an adult cat that is already spayed or neutered.  My cat is indoors only. Cats have been known to escape. In addition, spaying or neutering will reduce or eliminate annoying mating-associated behaviors, such as spraying (by males) and calling (by females). Furthermore, sterilizing your cat will reduce the likelihood that it will attempt to escape in order to find a mate.  I want my children to experience the miracle of birth. Are you prepared to show your children the tragedy of death of unwanted pets as well, by taking them to the shelter to witness the destruction of many cats for whom no home is available? Consider that even if you arrange, prior to breeding the cat, homes for all of the potential kittens, you will have taken away homes for some wonderful cats in shelters, who will die as a result. Public television and your library are two highly informative sources available to teach children about reproduction of animals.  If you really must show your children kittens being born, arrange with a shelter to adopt a pregnant female (most pregnant cats entering shelters are killed right away). At least then the additional litter will not be your own fault. And be sure you are willing to keep every kitten born yourself, in case the homes you have arranged fall through. If you are not willing to take on the full responsibility of insuring that none of the kittens ends up back in the shelter, you should not foster the litter.  But, I want to breed my purebred pet to make money! Professional breeding of purebred animals is a science involving years of study of desirable breed characteristics.  For the novice, little money, if any, can be made when the mother cat is properly cared for and kittens are fed, wormed, vaccinated, advertised, and sold. If breeding cats were a get-rich-quick scheme, many more people would be doing it. With the large numbers of cats available, the demand for purebred cats is very low.  In addition, anyone willing to spend several hundred dollars on a cat is going to be very careful about choosing a breeder who is experienced, responsible, and knowledgeable.  Don't you have to let your cat have at least one litter before spaying her? This is simply incorrect. There are no significant adverse effects of spaying or neutering your pet. In fact, spaying or neutering your cat can reduce the chances of it developing breast or prostate cancer later in life.  Is my pet too old for spaying/neutering? Cats are safely spayed and neutered every day. Unless your cat has health problems, spaying/neutering is safe and routine. Your veterinarian or low cost spay/neuter clinic will examine your cat before the operation to determine if any health problems are present.  My cat is male and won't have kittens. If your male cat fathers a litter, you are part of the problem, whether you are aware of it or not. Don't be irresponsible. Would you encourage or allow your son to get your neighbor's daughter pregnant, figuring that it is their problem?  If my cat has kittens, I can always take them to the shelter or advertise them in the paper. During peak kitten season, no-kill shelters and groups are usually filled to capacity, and shelters that do euthanasia are forced to kill many, many cats. People who seek homes for litters born to their cats often have great difficulty finding them. Kittens given away free may end up being sold to labs for experiments. Even if you find a home for your kittens, you are reducing the chance of other cats getting adopted. They may end up losing their lives because your kittens took a home from them.  What are the benefits of spaying and neutering? Spayed and neutered pets are less distracted by sexual instincts. They can be more responsive to you. Spayed/neutered pets are less likely to roam the streets and become lost or injured in search of a mate. They are less likely to fight with other cats, thus saving themselves much pain and their owners high veterinary bills. Spayed and neutered pets are cheaper to license. The metabolism of a cat changes after spaying and neutering, and the cat requires less food. This can save on cat food bills. Spayed female cats are less likely to develop cancer or pyometra, a common uterine infection in unaltered females. When an unspayed female cat goes into heat, she may spray and defecate in inappropriate places and stain carpets and furniture. Her personality changes and she may howl continually. Additionally, she will attract noisy, fighting, and bothersome males. Pregnant female cats eat more both when pregnant and after offspring are born. Health care for pregnant females is expensive. Unneutered male cats typically spray urine to mark territory both inside and outside the home. This spray has an obnoxious, unmistakable odor. Neutering, at a young age, helps eliminate this problem.

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