My Pet World: Adopt-A-Cat Month Addresses Cat Overpopulation
2. Bad Kitty: Kidney disease and cancers kill many cats, but bad behavior is likely the No. 1 cause of death. When family members get frustrated and fed up with a cat eliminating outside the litter box, scratching the sofa, or yowling overnight, the human/animal bond fractures, landing the pet in the local animal shelter. Worse, the "offender" simply gets the heave-ho. Either way, the odds of survival aren't great.
More resources are available than ever before to solve behavior issues, but not all cat owners know they exist or can afford such help. Increasingly, shelters offer low cost or free behavior counseling. You can locate a cat behavior consultant at www.iaabc.org or a veterinary behaviorist at www.dacvb.org. Veterinarians with a special interest in animal behavior are at www.avsabonline.org.
Encouraging owners to get qualified help before behavior problems become overwhelming is key.
3. Trap, Neuter, Return is a part of the solution. TNR programs utilize community volunteers (often in conjunction with non-profits who raise dollars for this purpose or animal shelters) who humanely trap feral cats, have them spay/neutered and vaccinated for rabies before releasing back to their colonies.
Some shelters still use their precious resources (shelter space and employee/volunteer time) attempting to socialize and adopt out feral cats. Instead, I endorse TNR. I argue, overall, that most feral cats are more content living in their colonies, letting shelters focus on other, more adoptable cats.
If you're thinking, "What can I do?" Adopt a cat! If you already have a cat or cats, volunteer at your local shelter.
A great resource for all cat owners is called "CATegorical Care: An Owners Guide to America's No. 1 Companion" It's free to download at http://catalystcouncil.org/resources/health_welfare/categorical_care/.
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Steve Dale welcomes questions/comments from readers. Although he can't answer all of them individually, he'll answer those of general interest in his column Send e-mail to PETWORLD(at)STEVE DALE.TV. Include your name, city and state. Steve's website is www.stevedalepetworld.com; he also hosts the nationally syndicated "Steve Dale's Pet World" and "The Pet Minute." He's also a contributing editor to USA Weekend.
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