A Vision to End "Kitten Season"

By Barbara Fairbanks, Humane Society of Northeast Texas Board Vice-President

It takes a pretty secure person to love a cat.  Or perhaps, it just takes someone that is willing to love an animal just the way it is, without requiring tricks or obedience.  My husband and I are allowed by our three cats to share their home, and we feel privileged.  Our two middle-aged cats are regal and sophisticated, and we feel as though we are in the presence of royalty when they choose a high spot from which to gaze down upon their kingdom. 

Allie, adopted from the Humane Society of Northeast Texas (HSNTX) two years ago, is in a category all her own.  She is scruffy, with fur that is neither plush nor sleek. Her scrappy build is obviously not the result of careful breeding, and her coat has a very common cream tabby color and pattern. She has a sort of dirty look to her face, even though she bathes several times each day. We harness-trained her when we first adopted her, thinking that she would make a good therapy cat for adults in nursing homes. That dream was canned, however, when we realized she is a biter despite our best efforts.  She doesn?t bite hard, and it is not out of malice; she just never received the discipline from her mother to know that playful nips are unacceptable.  

However, Allie embodies the best of companion animals. She is smart and playful. She loves playing with feather toys, tissue paper, and empty boxes. Allie comes running to greet us when we come home at night, and she relishes her walks outside the house on her harness.  But ? Allie is not a dog, and she will never roll over or shake hands. Watching her gently paw a toad to elicit a movement or leap to catch a moth more than makes up for an entertainment to be had from more obedient pets. 

This is the time of year that is known as ?kitten season? at shelters around the country. The HSNTX will be hit with many hundreds of cats and kittens in May. Many will be adopted, but not enough. Instead of recoiling in horror at the organization (HSNTX) that will have to euthanize many of these cats and kittens it had no part in creating, ask yourself if you may have unintentionally contributed to the problem.  

Did you feed stray cats at your home or business without ensuring they were neutered/spayed? Did you allow your own unsterilized cat to roam the neighborhood?  Did you allow your cat to have kittens with the intention of finding homes for them? Did you allow those kittens to go home with someone without knowing they would be neutered or spayed?  If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you have some ownership for the many homeless felines entering our facility today and in years to come. Cats are unbelievably prolific. According to the Humane Society of the United States, one unspayed female cat can theoretically result in 420,000 cats over the course of seven years

My hope would be that many of this season?s kittens and cats will get the opportunity Allie had to become a beloved family member. More importantly, I hope that Northeast Texans are becoming more proactive about preventing pet overpopulation. Only you and others in this community can help the HSNTX fulfill its vision:  ?to end euthanasia of adoptable animals?where one day, no healthy companion animal will be euthanized for lack of a home, for lack of space, or for lack of compassion?.

May is national Adopt-a-Cat month. If you are ready to take on the responsibility and joy of adopting a homeless animal, please visit our facility at 303 Enterprise Street in Longview or our website at www.hsntx.org. If you would like to be more involved in the HSNTX, call us at 903-297-2170 and find out the date of our next board meeting or volunteer orientation.