Ever wonder what happens to intact cats which have been dumped or left behind?

This past January I trapped four cats, one male and three females all under one year of age, in a local park. The three girls were pregnant with a total of 16 kittens. This is where Cat Math comes in….: 1 (male) x 3 (females) = 20, and this at the beginning of the season. These cats would have gone on to breed at least one more time and possibly twice before the cold weather stopped their cycles. Some of the female kittens from the first litter might also have dropped their own litters.

Two summers ago, an irresponsible cat owner abandoned six felines when she moved out of her ranch house in the hills near Los Alamos. A concerned neighbor contacted Catalyst for Cats, reporting that two kittens and four adults, one with an abscess in his side, were hungry and ownerless. She also mentioned that none had been “fixed.”

Cats are voracious breeders when left intact. In this situation with two toms, two adult females, and two female kittens, it was paramount that Catalyst for Cats trap and spay/neuter this group. The kittens would be at breeding age (four to seven months old) in less than twelve weeks. In cat societies, this meant that here was the potential for a population explosion of, let’s see…breeding twice a season…times four females (with average litter size of four)…equals…, egads! By the next year there could have been 32 new cats running wild on that property! Anyone care to calculate the following season?

“Kitten season” runs January through fall, depending on the weather. Female cats typically have two litters a season, and sometimes three. Although the average litter size is four, a birthing of six kittens or even more is not unusual. So, you can easily see this seemingly small group of abandoned cats would soon have overpopulated the area. Not only would this be a problem for the neighbors and the new homeowner (who is allergic to them), but for the cats themselves.

The popular misconception that cats can take care of themselves, is sadly wrong. A domesticated cat has an expected lifespan of 14-15 years. A stray cat lives only 2-3 years, and many die of starvation. The mortality rate among feral kittens is especially high, about 50%. Coyotes are also a big factor in our community, especially in the Valley hills. Need I mention fleas, ticks and disease? It’s a tough life at best.

Luckily for this bunch, due to the kindness of a concerned neighbor, all were humanely caught, fixed, and relocated to the neighbor’s barn for a new lease on life. Within ten minutes of being released, the alpha female thanked her new owner by catching a mouse. (Case in point, well fed cats make better hunters!)