NEUTERING
Please don't breed or buy while stray and abandoned kittens die!
With spring fast approaching the Great Amwell and District Branch Of Cats Protection, is urging owners to have their cats neutered and not allow them to breed.
The recession has hard hit rescue centers throughout the country which are already stacked full of unwanted cats and kittens; financial uncertainty means few good homes are available as people are reluctant to take on the additional responsibility of animals, cat owners are still not neutering their cats for financial reasons.
However for the most part, many owners are simply just un-aware of the difficulties un-neutered cats can get into and the problems caused and are equally un-aware that there are many charities, such as Cats Protection that are willing to help people help their cats by having them neutered.
The economics just do not stack up - caring for a pregnant cat and then her kittens properly, including good food, vet checks, appropriate flea and worm treatments and finally vaccinations, will cost far more than owners can ever hope to get back from selling them, assuming they can even be sold in the current economic climate. There will inevitably be at least one poor little black or black and white kitten in every litter which cannot be sold and which ends up being given away to friends who don't really want a cat but think quite wrongly that cats are independent creatures that won't need much looking after.
The sad fact is corners are often cut and kittens bred in this way often just don't receive the essential basic care they need to set them up for life and the mother cat's health is seriously compromised by having litter after litter, not to mention the increased risk of being exposed to serious diseases such as FIV and Felv, spread by mating and fighting.
Time after time we hear people say, "well we have homes for all our kittens". Sadly there are just not enough homes to go around * Whilst at Cats Protection we never put a healthy cat to sleep, * for every cat and kitten in care, there will be thousands more which may never see the inside of a home. Once rescue centers are full, places can only be made by homing the cats and kittens we already have.
Buyers must also assume some responsibility for their part: buying kittens from unscrupulous individuals encourages them to continue breeding and exacerbating the problem. You may think you are a cat lover by buying a kitten but you are contributing to a problem which causes suffering for countless other cats. Moreover, do you know what you are getting? Has the kitten been health checked, de-fled, wormed and properly socialized or are you getting yourself up for a problem? Most privately sold litters arise from the roaming local Tom mating their cat but who knows what disease that Tom can be carrying from cat to cat. All cats homed by Great Amwell and District Branch of Cats Protection are routinely blood tested for FIV / FeLV.
Please don't add to the unwanted kitten problem - neutering your cat really is the best and only solution - best for your cat's health, best for your finances and best for cats in general.
Should you not be able to afford to neuter your cat, financial assistance is available in the form of vouchers. Please call our helpline on 0845 371 2736, or 01279 843060.
If you are on benefits please phone C4 on 08458 734 782. You will be able to get your cat neutered for free.
Neutering Facts.
There are many myths that circulate about neutering. To set the record straight, here are the facts:
There are around 2.5 million stray cats living in the UK.
One un - neutered female cat can be responsible for 20,000 descendants in just five years.
Cats can become sexually active from just four months old.
It is not beneficial for a cat to have 'just one litter' before being spayed.
Gestation in cats ( the length of pregnancy ) is only nine weeks, and a female cat can come into season again just six weeks after giving birth.
Pregnancy and motherhood are physically very demanding for a cat - repeated pregnancies take their toll.
A cat can have up to three litters a year with five or six kittens in each litter. That adds up to 18 caring homes for Cats Protection to find each year, just for one cat's kittens!