While still willing to give voice to the voiceless and fight for the rights of all animals, this will be my last column for a while.

Of late my physical and emotional self have teamed up to inform me that it is time I retired from the business of trapping feral cats and fostering their kittens. This all came to a head after the marathon job at the vineyard in August, the subject of my last two columns.

Rather than simply disappearing from the pages, I wanted to thank my readers for all the donations, calls and emails we’ve received over the last seven years this column has run. Through you many cats and kittens have been rescued.

While Catalyst has made great strides in ridding the streets and empty lots of feral colonies in Santa Barbara County, their work is far from over. As long as there are irresponsible people who refuse to spay and neuter their pets, there will continue to be an endless supply of unwanted kittens and puppies.

Cats and kittens have it the hardest as they are left to fend for themselves on the streets, while dogs and their puppies are more often welcomed into the house. Until the public “gets it” and starts making an effort to do the right thing, it’s the animals that get the short end of the stick.

I’m guessing that my readers fall into the responsible sector, and that is wonderful. I hope that you are encouraging friends and neighbors to “fix” their pets before that oops litter appears.

Please continue to be the eyes and ears for the feral and street cats. Sometimes you may be the only one who cares if they live or die.