-=>Can you believe what Joan Kelly said to Ivy Iverson? Who woulda thunk?
 JK> Ivy Iverson wrote in a message to All:
 
 JK> Well, you are going to hear it anyway, because not having a cat
 JK> altered in this society is reprehensible behavior. 
 JK> One pair of healthy breeding cats, in seven years, is capable of
 JK> producing 76,000 offspring.  In one major city, in one year, 70,000
 JK> animals were turned over to SPCA shelters, and only 17,000 were
 JK> placed--the rest were euthanized. Our local pound won't even TAKE
 JK> cats, there are too many of them, and the local Animal Welfare Service
 JK> has stopped accepting cats as well, because they have run out of
 JK> foster homes.  One of the key personnel has something like 70 cats in
 JK> a kennel at her own home. 
 JK> For every cat you bring into the world and place, another cat in the
 JK> system is being euthanized.  By allowing the feral cat you had under
 JK> your care escape "uncut", you may have turned loose one of the healthy
 JK> pair mentioned above. The problem of overpopulation in the feline
 JK> world is REAL, it is SERIOUS, and it can only be dealt with one person
 JK> at a time.  By taking the stance you have, the message you are sending
 JK> to the rest of the world is that you are not even interested in being
 JK> part of the solution. 
 JK> Please do some reading on the subject, and try to understand why a
 JK> spay/neuter stance is so important in this present society.  It is not
 JK> just a "whim" of the cat owner, but a means of controlling a serious
 JK> problem that is way out of control.  Like it or not, responsible pet
 JK> ownership involves a trip to the vet for population control. 
Thank you for writing this. I was afraid that I was the only one aghast
at the message she wrote. I love cats too.. and kittens are so adorable
but as a receptionist at the local SPCA Hospital, and a volunteer in
the shelter, it's heartbreaking to see the pile of euthanised bodies
piled up in the cremation room. It's heartbreaking to walk past cages
filled with unwanted cats and dogs, who are afraid, sick and crying.
I understand the lure of a tiny kitten, I have fostered more than
1 myself.. but as you said.. the rate at which cats multiply is frightening.
The number of cats people unleash on the world because they can't be
bothered to fix them, or want to see "just one litter" is staggering.
Maybe our friend should go down to her local shelter some time and
see what her and other's refusal to spay and neuter comes down to.
... A cat NEVER leaves the toilet seat up!
--- EzyBlueWave V1.48g0 01fa0167
---------------