Pound Rescue receives hundreds of emails and phone calls a month. Sometimes it is extremely challenging trying to deal with the comments, expectations and demands from some people. Here are some of the things we hear.

Dog and cat overpopulation is a huge problem, cats even more so than dogs. There is no reason for having an unfixed cat. Yet people find lots of excuses and here are some of them:

• “It’s not really my cat, it came as a stray.

If action isn’t taken, 2 “strays”will become an endless cycle of reproduction that results in an uncontrolled colony ripe with disease, in-breeding and competition for food resulting in aggressive behavior, injuries and ultimately, a premature and often cruel death. The cat lives now with you or at your property. You have to assume responsibility, as nobody else will.

• ‘It’s too expensive, and it is just a cat.”

Very little in life is free and that certainly applies to one’s cats. Spay/Neuter should be viewed as a one-time expense and a reasonable acceptance of responsibility. If you truly cannot afford the cost of fixing your cat, find out what resources are available in your area.

• “It will probably get hit by a car and killed anyway.”

True, there are unfortunate and accidental deaths all the time. The point is to reduce the number of unwanted cats by altering them early enough to avoid more animals dying needlessly and harshly, whether that’s from accidental death, starvation, exposure to the elements, disease or euthanasia in a shelter for lack of homes.

• “Kittens are so cute, and I have homes lined up for all of them.”

Can you be sure that their new owners will commit to their care for the next 18 years? Will they have those kittens spayed or neutered so no more end up on the farm of a friend of a friend of a friend where they will be lucky to survive their first year?

• “If we get too many, I’ll shoot them.”

The 10 cent solution! How cheap, how cruel! This is Alberta; educated, rich, with one of the highest living standards in the world. Yet, many farmers and ranchers have only a bullet when it comes to their cats. Shooting cats and drowning kittens instead of having them spayed or neutered….SHAME ON YOU!

• “We need mousers to replace all the ones that die each year.”

A reasonable population of altered cats who are regularly fed and sheltered will keep mice under control. It’s called a “manageable colony” with decreased disease, aggressive behavior and wandering off.

• Fixing them will change their personality.”

True. They become more affectionate, easier to handle and they stay closer to home.

• “Mine is an indoor cat, so it doesn’t need to be fixed.”

Driven by instinct and trying to find a mate, your cat will yowl all night, scratch at doors and windows, spray and/or defecate around your house to mark territory. People with unfixed animals may not even notice that their house stinks. The cat may eventually escape to get pregnant or mate and end up lost. Another homeless cat, another litter of unwanted kittens! Why take all these risks?

• I don’t like cats anyway, so I don’t care.”

You should care. Cat overpopulation is a huge problem, not only for the animals. It causes animals to suffer greatly and people to become desensitized, heartless and cruel. Suffering and cruelty should concern you. People who treat the life of an animal with disrespect are in danger to equally disregard human life. Even if you are unable to see value in the life of a cat, please speak up to the importance of spaying and neutering.

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