Help! I Just Found a Cat and Kittens!

It happens almost every day. In fact, we got a call from a wonderful person whom we've known for awhile just a couple of days ago. It put us in mind of something our vet had mentioned: that the Town of Dewitt was talking about an ordinance against feeding cats outside. On the surface it makes sense, but let's look a little deeper:

"Don’t feed it and it will go away?"
Yes, this is the advice that used to be given, and still is, by some agencies. Many localilties (in their ignorance) make laws against feeding strays. I suppose they figure that if the cats aren’t fed, they’ll move on to the next town. Too bad cats can’t read so they’d know where the borders are. True, cats tend to go, and stay, where there is a food source, and it makes sense that if you don’t want a cat around, you shouldn’t feed it. But “cat control” often defies common sense, and we need to take this a step further.

First, the cat may leave your yard, but it will very likely find a food source somewhere; a dumpster, dog food left out for a friendly dog, or neighbors’ garbage cans. Even on a poor-quality diet, it will reproduce. Now, instead of one cat, you have six. The kittens can begin reproducing at as young as six months. The other problem your neighborhood now has is that the kittens are growing up feral. Kittens who are not socialized to humans when they are very young—under 8 weeks of age—may never be tame enough to place in a home. In other words, not feeding the cat might make it move along, but it doesn’t make it evaporate, and the consequences may come back later to haunt the whole neighborhood.

Here’s our recommendation: Do feed the cat. Get it spayed or neutered. Immediately. I know it’s not your cat. Nor is it anyone else’s cat, but it is living in your community, and someone has to nip the problem in the bud. It’s far cheaper to spay one cat now than to try to deal with one cat and its kittens, and it’s kittens’ kittens, and so on. Especially when they all grow up wild. If you are already in this situation, you know what I’m talking about. If not, and you don’t do something to stop a stray cat from reproducing, you’ll learn first hand. Trust me. This is a lesson best NOT learned from experience. If you already have feral cats in your neighborhood, one of these websites will tell you what you need to know. Read them carefully, “listen” to their advice. They will tell you about the ONLY PROVEN “cure” for a feral cat problem. Please go to: www.alleycat.com and/or www.neighborhoodcats.com for well-researched, proven and sound advice.