Imagine, if you will, that Chrystal and her family had not answered the call about feral kittens, not gone to see them, not captured them. It's another reality we call... CATastrophe!
Leo is now two years old. As a two year old feral male, he'd be a loner, no one to cuddle, no one to scritch his chin, no warm bed to curl up in, no human to see to his every need, want and desire. Just cold, heat, and fighting.
Leo has five sisters. They would have had three litters by now. Considering that they were a litter of six, chances are they would have had litters of six each time. That means 18 kittens for each sister. For a grand total of 90 new kittens. Oh, and don't forget their momma who is now fixed, she'd have had three more litters of six as well, meaning the total comes up to 18 kittens. IF they all survive... chances of that, pretty slim.
Now Leo, he would have been *ahem* active at around six months old. Considering that he's a little shy, though a HUGE kitty, lets assume that he only 'gets' two girl cats a heat season. If those ladies have litters of six That's 12 a season, for a total of 36 kittens he fathers. Now, if he stays with his family.. some of his kittens might also be his sisters kittens, maybe even his mothers, but lets not get into that hairy ball of wax...
So between Leo, his mom and his sisters, we have 144 cats.
Now, lets look at the kittens of the kittens! That first season's kittens would have two litters by now, and the second season's kittens would have had one litter. If everyone survived, we're talking ... oh forget it! I am not doing that much math!
Pardon my language, but that is one huge crapload of cats!
Would they all survive? No. Cars, wild animals, fights, illness, bad humans, accidents.. It's a perilous world out there for ferals. But still, that's a lot of cats with no one caring for them.
What a bleak thought.
But there is such a person as Chrystal. There is such people as her family. They did capture and save Leo and his sisters. They did trap, neuter, and return his mom (where she's being fed by a lady). They fixed Leo and his sisters. There will be no more kitties from this group. Whew!
However. 4 of Leo's sisters are still waiting on their forever homes. They are beautiful girls, two of them with extra toes like Leo. They have grown up in the cathouse. Yes, they are safe, fed and cared for. But that's not the same thing as having their own loving home. Can you please help find those homes? Can you consider taking one or more in? Can you help? Will you?
Mitts Cashmere
Glitter Spritz
(Spritz may not be ready, but could still use an understanding home)
There are other kitties in the cathouse too. Several of them are adorable kittens, wouldn't it be great to get them homes before they, too, grow up in the cathouse?
While you're contemplating which kitty to add to your house, or which kitty goes with which of your family or friends, please remember that there are still 11 days left in our fundraiser and boy are the funds needed! New kittens coming in, lots of travel to hopefully capture that last little kitten someone dumped in the middle of nowhere, food, fixing, litter... the list goes on and on.
Please, if you can, donate, and if you donate at least $15 we will send you a great set of five toys!
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Oh! And while I'm thinking of it. It seems that the reason I couldn't post on some sites is that the site's spam filter suddenly decided I was spam!
If someone could please ask Blog of Otis and Zee and Zoey to check their spam folders and unspam me, I would so appreciate it!!! I think those are the only other ones I'm not able to post on. Love and Hisses already did theirs and I can post there, Three Cat Yard said he would check. I'm not sure who else might be considering me spam... maybe wordpress blogs?
I did find a few comments that were NOT spam in my spam folder, so I quickly unspammed them!
Heck with it, EVERYone check your spam folder please!! It's awful to comment and no one sees it..
18 comments:
Leo's sisters are BEAUTIFUL! I can't believe they don't have homes yet.
I do check my spam filter often, and if a reader has too much a problem getting through my spam filter, I have my human manually place them on my whitelist.
It just baffles me how some people just refuse to see the benefits of TNRM. It's no short term solution since the cats / dogs will be returned to the colony, but it's a long term solution. Our councils refuse to even consider TNRM but would instead pay *butchers* to capture dogs (usually) and drag them to pounds to live in hell before being put down. It really makes me so angry.
What beautiful Ladycats Leo's sisters are
Leo's story is powerfully told here. Thank you.
Purrs
Leo's story is very powerful. I know some object to TNRM, but I don't see another humane way to care for so many feral cats. They break my heart. I wish I could afford another feline family member, but four is my limit right now. I feel guilty for not spending more time with them already. Leo's sisters are beautiful and Chrystal and her family and all those like them, do a wonderful thing and inspire me to do all I can. Today I can make a donation. Thanks for helping the kitties.
What a great post....and so very true. I don't want to think about the math - it makes my head and my heart hurt.
We are waiting for payday to order some toys. :)
And yeah - it may be wordpress that doesn't like you - haha.... I read another post somewhere about spam, checked mine and found several messages and now check it every few days. (good reminder)
haven't checked comments on Cat Chat yet today but we posted about you so if you haven't seen it...head on over!
What a good and meaningful, powerful post. Thank you for it. This is an everyday sad sad problem and a heartbereaking one. There are innocent cats everywhere suffering except those fortunate enough to be with a house or shelter that cares for them. Bleak.
Such lovely cats. There are just so many that need homes.
What a wonderful post. xx
Andrea,
We thinks you are pawsome to highlight Ms. Chrystal all the time and be such a supportive follower of her blog and friend. We love you, too!
Much Luvums,
Mama Mindy & The Slimmer Puggums & PurrSibs
Pee-s: Yes. That is a crapload of cats...no language confinement needed for blunt honesty. :)
It's a great post!!! I often think that without Chrystal I wouldn't have Jimmy or Kip either. Chrystal rocks :-)
A beautiful post!
That is exactly why I have so many cats here is because no one around here spays and neuters. So like a dummy, I feed these poor kittens who are now cats and have finally caught the feral momma kitty and had her fixed. I wish I could find homes for some of these. There are three here that I know were dropped off. Anyway, Chrystal does a good job. Wish I could get some adopted like she does. Take care.
That was some mighty fine pondering! Believe me, if our older humans could handle more that six they surely would.
Good lives come from small bits of luck sometimes!
We wish we could take in all those pretty girls! Alas, we are only allowed 2 pets where we live, so we are double the limit.
Our toys came today and they are fabulous! We'll blog about them next week!
Oh, that is soo true. I would prolly be dead now cause I don't think too many feral boys make it to 8. SO even though I complain some (okay, a LOT) about the Human, I really do lead a pretty cushy life what with my pink beddie and all.
XOXOXOXO
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