Here it is the beginning of June already and we are not overflowing with kittens yet. What this means to us is that our TNR efforts and the affordable spay/neuter clinics are really working in the county!

Last year by this time we had many kittens already adopted and dozens more in foster, with still more waiting on the streets to be picked up when we had an opening. This year our foster families are calling to ask when they will be getting a litter. We do have kittens, several litters in fact that are just nearing adoption age, but we are not overburdened.

None of us are complaining we are, in fact, celebrating a somewhat restful season. This is not to say that we have nothing to do. We are currently trapping a large colony in Santa Ynez and the north county continues to be a hot spot breeding ground for outdoor pets, strays and ferals.

A year-and-a-half ago we trapped a large colony in Solvang which had begun to spill over into neighboring Ballard. (Search the articles for “Legacy of a Single Cat” on our website to read the story.) Nearby neighbors and businesses were complaining, and finally the owners of the original intact cat that had started the whole thing called us for help. This is what has happened again in Santa Ynez, resulting in dozens of free-roaming cats within a small area and spreading to adjoining properties.

It is so easy to put things off until it becomes a crisis situation. Delaying a spay/neuter of a pet will usually lead to what we call an “oops” litter of unwanted kittens or puppies. Suddenly these babies become a financial burden and end up as free-for-the-taking or dumped on a rescue group or at a shelter where the public ends up paying for their care and surgeries.

We continue to encounter irresponsible folks giving free kittens away in front of stores, at swap meets and listing them on Craigslist. This means that there are still many intact pets out there that can very easily start a population explosion all over again if they are not sterilized.

As with spay/neuter surgery, TNR should not be looked at as a last resort. Nipping a potential colony in the bud by “fixing” just a pair of intact cats will result in alleviating much suffering were they left to breed over and over again. Waiting until a dozen or more adults are roaming about before calling on our help turns a simple job into a trapping marathon lasting weeks.

I don’t want to be thought of as a stuck record, always preaching about pet sterilization, but my job as Education Outreach Coordinator for Catalyst for Cats demands it of me. Our mission is to “make every cat a wanted cat” and to end the suffering of those felines left to breed year after year. A human mother knows first hand the toll a single baby takes on her body. Think what it does to a female cat bearing, feeding and rearing an average of 8-15 kittens every year for her whole life!

You can help us help the community by first spaying/neutering your own pets and encouraging your neighbors to do likewise. If you do spot stray cats doing the mating dance in your yard, please call us BEFORE the situation gets out of hand. TNR really does work; we have proof!