Knoxville has some pretty tight pet laws; I am about to make full use of them. When we moved into our house last year, there was a mother cat who had been abandoned by her former owners (they had just moved out a month prior). She had three kittens that she was raising underneath her former owners’ former house. The two females were taken in by our uphill neighbors, and the male was taken in by a neighbor who came in a couple weeks after us. The mommy was taken by a friend of somebody on the street to be a barnyard cat. Here, the story goes south.
The owners of the two female cats were not able to afford the spaying initially, and they managed to get outside during their first heat cycles. (It wouldn’t have been hard to do, considering the neighbors. I love ‘em, but…) Given the 3 or 4 stray toms in the neighborhood, they didn’t stand a chance. The first had 3 kittens, and the second had 2 that survived. They’re still trying to get rid of kittens (though the mommies are now spayed; we found a low-cost spay service just south of town).
The owner of the male cat absolutely refuses to get him neutered. She lives vicariously through his glandular habits, and he is a likely father of at least one set of kittens mentioned above. Having had to chase him off of our porch while he surveys the night life has caused him to develop a deep fear of us (YES!!!). He won’t come within 2 property lengths of us and stays off our property now, which is a relief.
To add to the story, another female wandered in the area, and was taken in by an across-the-street neighbor. She didn’t bother seeing if the cat was spayed, and the cat went into heat in about two weeks. While this cat has been growing kittens, the neighbor has increased her pack of dogs from 2 to 4, and her boyfriend has started living with her (he is allergic to cats). The last dog, an English bulldog of all things, hates cats. So, this pregnant kitty has been outside for nearly the whole pregnancy. We’ve been explaining to this lady how dangerous this is for the cat and kittens. (Toms will kill kittens if given a chance; the female cats usually band together to protect the broods, but this female has no allies and there are those 3 or 4 toms running wild.) She finally got the picture, and has finally arranged a place for the cat to go – her son’s wife’s mom wants the cat and will manage the care of the kittens.
Even more: a couple of weeks ago, there was a stray kitten that wandered onto our street. She was about 3 months old, flea-infested, and in heat. My cat-loving sister was in town, so we pooled together to take the kitten into a shelter and had her fixed, de-flead, and so on. The problem is that the mommy is still out there somewhere and is probably still fertile.
In short, there are about a dozen cats running loose on a street of 8 houses (and less than a block in length). I’ve been patient, as we’ve been trying to get our neighbors to take proper care of their cats, but that’s over.
Once the pregnant one is off our street and in a safe home, I’m calling animal control. Given the stringent laws in Knoxville, they will drag through the neighborhood and pick up any cat (and dog) that is not properly licensed and registered with the city. Additionally, they will pick up any animal that is not vaccinated for rabies and will pick up any animal that is not properly contained (i.e. fenced or leashed for dogs, licensed for cats). We will warn the neighbors with the two female cats at the beginning of the story; they are the most responsible and are actually taking proper care of their animals. They’re also moving in February, so I can be patient.
Moral: Spay, neuter, immunize, register, and contain your pets. If you can’t do that, you shouldn’t have the pet in the first place. If you refuse to do that (and aren’t a registered breeder), you should seriously question your fitness for pet ownership. To close the story, consider that there are 8 houses on the street. Ours is the only one without at least one cat or dog (due to our status as students, we can’t properly care for pets right now). One is currently empty, though there are people moving in at the end of the month, and they have one dog (obviously an indoor floor rug). That leaves 6 houses; note that I’ve only mentioned 3. The other three are responsible with their animals, and we’ve never had a problem. Hmm…
ADDENDUM: A friend kindly pointed out that many non-breeders in fact do responsibly care for and control unsterilized cats and dogs. I readily admit that possibility, and that the above was written while I was in a rather bad mood. However, I stand firm on the notion that far too many people have far too little control over their animals.
