The reality of unchecked breeding
Hello Friends 🐱
First, I want to say how incredibly grateful I am for every signature showing so much support! Please continue to share this petition to continue getting the word out there! This is just a surmised version of how I have become the caretaker of 14ish very sweet and precious cats that I affectionately call The Horde. If you spare a moment to read, you have my gratitude.
A year ago my carport looked very different. There were no feeding trays or plates, or winter shelters or cat houses. It was actually quite bare despite living here for the past five years, but that changed in just months. A family moved in to the house just down from mine and I’ll just assume they didn’t bring all of these cats with them when they came. This situation is the product of unchecked breeding that went on for months.
Over the years of living here, a stray stopping by hasn’t been unheard of. Having three cats inside I feel makes my house stand out to strays like there’s a neon sign that says “Welcome, stop here”. They always accept a meal and then make themselves scarce. Never before had I experienced a long term visitor and nothing prepared me for 14 of them.
Recently, the other neighbors began mentioning the family down the street had been evicted. I knew vaguely that they had a cat or two and I hoped that they had taken the cats in the move, but when the first shy and hungry cat showed up, my heart began to sink. Over the course of a few days, the word on the cat grape vine had traveled fast and I was met with a new hungry and shyer face each time I walked outside.
That’s when the idea of TNR began to become obviously needed. It started with routine feeding. Sometimes all it takes is food to win a cat over, other times it is quietly respecting their space and allowing them to see how other cats interact with you that helps them ultimately come around.
That’s when I got in touch with a woman named Beth who had done TNR for years. Through her mentorship and support she walked me through all the steps of what we could do and to expect. And just like that every Monday at evening feeding, I sent up a silent prayer that I could catch two or three to take the next morning.
Today, the horde is managed. Everyone has been caught, given rabies vaccinations, and been spayed or neutered. They are fed twice a day and looked after as best as I can provide with my limited resources. Each has a name & unique personality and I hope that each of them gets the chance to find the loving home inside that they deserve one day.
The important take away of this message is not that I need donations, but that this is the aftermath of unchecked breeding from just one house on one street in Louisiana. That the effects of failing to spay and neuter is a very real and serious problem that affects these animals and our communities through the state and our country.
Please push your local government to take action to implement ordinances that make spay and neuter a requirement and set aside funding to make TNR possible in more communities!
Animals suffer needlessly when we fail to steward properly!
Please push this petition if you feel like me and would like to see real change happen.
Thank you + God Bless