I’m a cat person—some might even say ‘Cat Lady,’ and I accept that title with honor. Dogs are okay, and I wouldn’t mind having a dog at some point—but that point is not now. I like cats because they like the same things I like—a warm place to sit, plentiful food provided by an amiable servant, and to be left mostly alone to do as I please.
I have 9—count ‘em–9 cats at the moment. All of them are rescues of one kind or another. Most of them just appeared at the door in various stages of neglect. It’s cat heaven here, and the word spreads.
Our most recent addition is Arthur.
Arthur is a large yellow male with a crumpled ear. He probably got that from fighting in the neighborhood. We think he may have belonged to a neighbor who died recently and was either lost or abandoned by those who cared for that gentleman. Arthur had a rough year outside before we took him in. We think he was hanging out with a coon for a time because they would appear in the yard together and seemed on friendly terms.
The first time I saw him, he was looking for scraps and bullying the other cats. I saw the crumpled ear, but otherwise, he looked like he had a home. A few months later, he was back at the door, this time scrawny and with a fresh snake bite on his neck. Probably a copperhead bite—these look ugly, but if the animal doesn’t die from anaphylactic shock at the start or from infection later, these bites are not often fatal.
That was that. Off he went to the vet for neutering and vaccinations. The other cats are taking a bit of time to get used to him, but slowly, he is becoming one of our pride. He’s a sweet, giant cat who loves to sit on laps and is gentle with my granddaughter. Someone has loved him. I can only imagine how he felt suddenly being out on his own.
Now, I don’t have a bottomless pit of money. Nine cats are about my limit. At least, that is what I allow my husband and kids to believe. Left to my own devices, I’d be just like Mrs. Deagle in Gremlins, living in an old house with a million cats. As I looked for options, I was disappointed but not surprised to find none in my area.
I live in a place where animals are often treated poorly. My county is one of the poorest in the state and one of the most under-educated.
Not surprisingly, in my county—actually, for at least 50 miles around my location—no programs exist to spay and neuter pets at a reduced cost. No-kill shelters are few and far between and often overloaded. Vets seldom offer special prices to spay or neuter feral or stray animals. It’s a poor county, so few can afford the $80 to over $100 to spay or neuter their own pets.
“Shoot ‘em” is the most common response to a stray.
Let’s leave for a moment the fact that one of the signs of a psychopath is the mistreatment of animals because it is unsettling to contemplate how many of my neighbors may be on that spectrum. Instead, let’s concentrate on solutions.
In more civilized places, Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return programs exist. This approach argues that a healthy, neutered cat is better than a disease-ridden, kitty-producing cat. Crazy, I know. Funding for these programs is possible through grants and support from municipalities and other organizations.
So, when you have a feral cat or a feral cat colony, volunteers or workers humanely trap the cats and transport them to a facility where they are neutered and vaccinated (usually just against rabies). The tip of the ear is nipped to identify the cat as already treated, and the cat is returned to its original location.
Why return them? This means nobody has to adopt them, but their presence in their original location will deter other cats from moving in. Neutering will also decrease behaviors like fighting, yowling, spraying, and general mayhem. Eventually, the feral cat problem will disappear since no new cats are being produced.
Besides releasing back to the original area, another option is to relocate to barns, warehouses, or other areas where vermin control is needed. Whoever controls such a place agrees to ensure the relocated cats are not mistreated and that they are otherwise taken care of. You do need to feed a hunting cat. It’s strange that this needs to be said, but a weak cat can’t hunt.
Contrary to gossip, actual data shows that outdoor cats survive quite nicely. They do not present a health hazard, and they do not wreak havoc on birds and other critters. Check the research in the links below.
If—more likely when—a new cat shows up, I’ll figure it out. If—more likely not—I win the lottery, I’ll set up a program. Until then, here is a bit of info I found helpful and encouraging.
For information on Missouri feral cat programs, check out these links.
Central Missouri Humane Society
Humane Society of Southwest Missouri
If you want to check my facts or learn more truth about cats, try these sites.
https://www.felineresearch.org/post/issue-brief-feral-cats-and-public-health
