NOV. 2006

"Sheltering an Animal’s Perspective"

By Gregory Simpson

I am heartsick because of the heartless – the heartless who abandon their cats, either neutered or not neutered. I have trapped, rescued and placed twenty cats and kittens from my neighborhood. I want to thank publicly, thank several no-kill animal organizations for their assistance: Meriden Humane Society, C.A.T.A.L.E.S, MEOW, Protectors of Animals, Rose Hope Animal Rescue, Animal Alliance Welfare League, and a terrifically talented trapper named Keith.

Three of the rescued cats were already neutered and friendly, ostensibly having been pets. The others lived in the wild and are feral. All were homeless, looking for food and shelter, living on the margins of existence through the sweltering heat of summer and the merciless dead cold of winter.

Before catching one feline, she had two litters and five kittens. Do the math. How long would it take before a feline population explosion occurred without someone who cared enough to intervene? Unfortunately, there are not enough who do care. Mary Huhndorf, DVM, President of MEOW in Litchfield reflects, "There is only a small minority that is not blind to the suffering all around them." How sad, but true. We live in a country where cats are the most popular pet by numbers. Yet thousands of healthy cats, both tame and feral, are killed daily. More can and should be done to help them.

The best approach with feral cats is trap-neuter-return. After being trapped and sterilized, feral cats are generally better off being returned to where they were living, as long as they are provided food and shelter by reliable feral colony caretakers. Kittens young enough to be socialized can be removed from the colony, socialized, spayed or neutered, and adopted. Trap-neuter-return (TNR) has proven to be the only successful and humane program for the control of feral cat populations.

Those interested in learning more about trap-neuter-return programs may contact Alley Cat Allies at www.alleycat.org. Local contacts regarding trap-neuter-return include C.A.T.A.L.E.S in Middletown 860-344-9043 or Animal Alliance Welfare League in New Britain at 860-827-9543. Those needing low cost spay/neuter certificates can contact SPAY/NEUTER USA at 1-800-248-SPAY or Friends of Animals at 1-212-247-8120.

Anyone who has watched Bob Barker on The Price is Right has heard the message – spay or neuter your pet. Yet it is estimated that only 80% of household cats in Connecticut have been spayed or neutered. I pray that people will listen to the spay-neuter message.

I continue to be heartsick because of the heartless. There are thousands upon thousands more out there like the twenty that I rescued. Show that you care about animals by spaying and neutering. Do not be blind to the suffering all around you.

Gregory Simpson is Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Meriden Humane Society, Inc., a no-kill shelter incorporated by Connecticut legislative charter in 1893. He is also past state advisor to the national organization, Friends of Animals, Inc. In the December 2005 issue of CAT FANCY, he was named one of the 40 Ultimate Cat Lovers in the U.S.