Ivy Iverson wrote in a message to All:
 II> And before someone uses words like "Neuter" or "Fix," forget it! 
 II> I'm sorry, but I cannot resist the thought of a litter of kittens
 II> once in a while, and I keep it down to less than one litter per
 II> year, (actually closer to a litter every two years.)  With an
 II> average survival rate of about 3-4 kittens per litter, (these tend
 II> to have 4-5 per litter), that averages out to about 2 kittens a
 II> year... it's not too hard to find GOOD, LOVING homes for that
 II> quantity.
Well, you are going to hear it anyway, because not having a cat altered in 
this society is reprehensible behavior.
One pair of healthy breeding cats, in seven years, is capable of producing 
76,000 offspring.  In one major city, in one year, 70,000 animals were turned 
over to SPCA shelters, and only 17,000 were placed--the rest were euthanized. 
 Our local pound won't even TAKE cats, there are too many of them, and the 
local Animal Welfare Service has stopped accepting cats as well, because they 
have run out of foster homes.  One of the key personnel has something like 70 
cats in a kennel at her own home.
For every cat you bring into the world and place, another cat in the system 
is being euthanized.  By allowing the feral cat you had under your care 
escape "uncut", you may have turned loose one of the healthy pair mentioned 
above.  The problem of overpopulation in the feline world is REAL, it is 
SERIOUS, and it can only be dealt with one person at a time.  By taking the 
stance you have, the message you are sending to the rest of the world is that 
you are not even interested in being part of the solution.
Please do some reading on the subject, and try to understand why a 
spay/neuter stance is so important in this present society.  It is not just a 
"whim" of the cat owner, but a means of controlling a serious problem that is 
way out of control.  Like it or not, responsible pet ownership involves a 
trip to the vet for population control.
--- timEd/386 1.10
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