Playing God

I had the opportunity to trap, neuter, return yesterday.  Thanks to Sue from Another Chance Ranch (see her link in yesterday's post), she was able to get me two spots at her clinic in Batavia.  I decided I needed to get two cats off the street that I highly suspected were pregnant, both being the above kitties, Laura and Sparkles.  Through a friend of a friend, someone offered to help with the transportation in getting these cats to Sue, who was driving in from South Livonia and then onto Batavia.  This person picked up the cats in the morning, because I had to be at work, and drove them to Henrietta to meet Sue for her next hour drive to the clinic.  Late yesterday I was informed that these two females were indeed pregnant, both full term.  They were spayed regardless - which means their kittens were aborted.  Now, as much as that saddens me, I can't tell you how elated I am to know that I got these two in the nick of time.  They would have had their kittens on the street, where not only other critters would have eaten them, but most of the kittens born would not survive.  Sparkles had five kittens inside her.  Not sure about Laura.  If I had had a home for these cats to go to, this would be a different story.  But I did not have that choice.  The woman who transported was very upset, and told me I shouldn't be playing God, and she will never help me transport again.

One of the most controversial issues is whether or not to spay a rescued pregnant cat. While some people are repulsed at the thought of killing kittens, others believe the question begs a larger issue, that of the overpopulation problem.

Stray female cats have an uncanny knack of finding shelter immediately before giving birth, and will suddenly appear at a doorstep, seeking human help. Other female strays will find themselves cast out into the streets, punished for getting pregnant, because their owners failed to spay them and keep them indoors. Or the owner, in an attempt to salve their conscience, will surrender the pregnant female to a shelter, as a "found" stray, or summarily dump her at the door of a known rescuer.  All too often, these pregnant females are kittens themselves. It is fairly common for a cat to have its first period between four and six months of age, and to give birth as early as at six or seven months.  The survival of the mother cat, and any kittens that live is rare.

Animal rescue groups, humane societies, and TNR groups are overwhelmed in trying to stop the birth of new kittens, and "kitten season," is met with dread by these groups. Dread, because they know that this year's kitten crop will be responsible for the deaths of last year's kittens, or older cats, at shelters. There simply isn't enough space to house them all, and something must give. It's a matter of supply and demand. In a world that loves kittens, kittens are a dime a dozen.

The pros of this are:
1.Spaying a rescued pregnant cat will help contain the overpopulation problem. There are simply too few homes for the huge number of homeless cats.
2.Spaying a pregnant rescued cat will help prevent the deaths of living cats and kittens. Even though a pregnant female cat might be adopted by the finder, with good homes waiting for her kittens, each of those kittens will indirectly be responsible for the death of a shelter cat or kitten that might have been adopted into one of those homes.
3. Very young cats and very old cats rarely enjoy the kind of physical condition that would warrant allowing them to give birth. Birthing and nursing a litter of kittens would easily take their last ounce of strength, and could kill them. This truth is even more evident in the case of pregnant strays, who may have already borne dozens of litters of kittens. (A female cat is capable of having at least three litters of kittens each year.) The kindest and most compassionate action anyone could take with one of these cats is to spay/abort her. I have to believe this, as much as it bothers me.
There will never be an end to this issue until cat owners become responsible, by spaying and neutering their cats. As more kittens are born each year, more stray cats will appear, and the cat overpopulation problem cycle continues. That is why this issue is just a small part of a greater issue: Spay and Neuter.