“Why don’t you take them inside?” is a common comment to the Metro Cat Rescue Facebook Posts about neighborhood cats. We directly assist volunteer efforts caring for many dozens of community cats and interact often with others managing colonies that total in the hundreds. And simply considering space, where can the cats go if brought indoors? And who is to staff the army that will be needed to change litter boxes, provide food, rinse out water bowls and launder bedding?
Outdoor cats generally are not friendly and often are feral. It takes many hours of patient effort to socialize a cat brought in. One that we started with in mid-December just will let us pet her now, but still can’t be picked up. And there’s the sad reality that the homes are not there. One local animal worker has dozens of domestic, tame cats — all vet checked — available for adoption. If adopters are not to be found for the outgoing ones seeking human companionship, what hope is there for the others?
A similar request, especially when the weather turns cold, is for Animal Control to take the cats. What do people think happens to the little gals and guys whose only happiness was a meal from a rare friendly hand? Do the cats go to a suite with silk sheets in Trump Towers? Is Ivanka strolling down the hall now with a platter of sole and filet mignon? The cruel hard fact is that after the terror of betrayal, capture and captivity, the cats will be deemed unadoptable and killed.
The compassionate and most practical answer for urban outdoor cats is proper management, importantly including neutering.
Cats that can reproduce, will reproduce. The males frequently fight with each other and mate with the females in heat. Neighbors legitimately upset by the noise will complain and possibly do harm to the cats. The area soon will be filled with unwanted kittens facing a life of sickness and starvation.
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Metro Cat Rescue coordinates the volunteer care of many outdoor cats in a number of colonies. We’re working hard to bring some inside to socialize and to place in good homes. This takes lots of time, space and money.
Our day with the rescue cats starts at 6am and ends at 8pm. Volunteer feeding of community cats is at dawn.
Metro Cat Rescue needs your help so that we can continue to help cats living in the streets. It’s quick and convenient to DONATE. Just click on the Link below to our GoFundMe Page If everyone reading this gave SOMETHING, we’d be well on the way to providing for suffering cats who have to fend for themselves. THANK YOU!
MetroCatRescue@gmail.com is the address to use to donate through PayPal.
Instead of posting questions as comments, email inquiries to MetroCatRescue@gmail.com