Cat Pregnancies.....

A big thank you to Laura, who successfully DROP trapped this beautiful, pregnant Tortie this morning for me from Fourth Street.  She just would not go into a regular Havahart trap, after unsuccessfully trying for two days each week for the past few weeks.  She will be spayed today and returned back to her little red kitten who I TNR'd just the other day.  Sadly.  It must be done.

Pregnant Kitty from Fourth Street

Thanks to Heidi, we are getting this beauty from Melville Street spayed today.  She will not be having any more kittens either.

Pregnant Kitty from Melville Street 

While it is certainly something no rescue likes to do, the truth is that every Spring, the animal shelters and rescues are overloaded with kittens. The sad reality is that many have to be euthanized in shelters because there just aren’t enough homes for them all. Signs for Free Kittens will be posted all over the place, kittens will be given to anyone willing to take them, with little value being placed on their lives. Even worse, people get desperate and will dump kittens on the side of the road, left in dumpsters, drowned in creeks or just left to starve and die alone. We see it every Spring. We know it is happening.

There is a safe, humane and proven solution to the feline overpopulation problem. TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return). And while it’s not a fun concept to digest, it is VITAL that we spay/abort a pregnant cat. While no one wants to abort kittens, unfortunately, it is necessary.

Here are the Facts

• When a pregnant cat is allowed to have her kittens, even if good homes are found for them, you can bet that there are that many bright eyed little fluff balls in the local kill shelters that will have to be killed for lack of homes.
• Many kittens born will wind up as Free Kittens. Often these kittens are given away to irresponsible people who allow them to breed, or worse, they are taken for snake food, dog fighting bait or picked up by “bunchers” who sell them to Class B Animal Dealers for use in research. 
• Allowing a feral or stray cat to have her kittens can complicate future trapping in the area. Mom might be nursing her dependent kittens and if taken in by someone this would leave her defenseless offspring to starve and fall prey to predators or cruel individuals.
• Often homeless strays or feral cats don’t get the proper nutrition to have a healthy litter. In Spring of 2016, we had a cat give birth in a garage the night before she was to be taken to be spayed. The yowling during birth was horrifying and the next day we had to bury her still-born kittens.
• A homeless female cat has to care for her kittens until she can ween them and teach them how to fend for themselves in a hazardous environment. She will do anything to care for them, even putting her own life in danger. 

The Big Picture

While no one wants to think about aborting kittens, the alternative is far worse, killing bright eyed kittens because there just aren’t any homes left for them. By humanely aborting kittens in-utero, you are helping to find homes for kittens that already exist. It is imperative that we look at the big picture.

We must fix every cat we can, even if the cat is pregnant.

And believe me, I hate it.  I go through a lot of feelings of guilt.  But, it must be done!  This is why its so vital to fix them BEFORE they are pregnant.  The males too!  We all must do our part!

Have a nice day.