Spring brings new litters, old problem

It’s nearly the season again when the animal kingdom’s newborns arrive. Unfortunately, that will include many puppies, kittens, domestic rabbits and other pets whose arrival is a distinctly mixed blessing.

While many of us find such baby animals nothing short of irresistible, the Mat-Su Borough is overrun with litters of puppies and kittens, some of which will never have proper homes, and some no home at all.

If you have an unaltered pet, please make an appointment for its spaying or neutering, or keep it confined so it cannot breed. Keep in mind that some pets — like cats — are nearly impossible to keep confined when they are in estrus, and a cat can go into heat about every three weeks.

Two recent incidents at Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Control serve as object lessons for those who think letting pets breed at will is OK. These incidents are far from isolated; pet overpopulation in the Valley is a very serious issue.

About a month ago, one of our fellow cat rescue folks received a call from a former volunteer, advising her of a pregnant cat belonging to a friend whose kittens would need placement. The rescuer offered her assistance, including caring for the pregnant mother and having her spayed before returning her to her owner. The rescuer made some follow-up calls, but the cat and her kittens remained in jeopardy.

About two weeks after the call, five very young kittens were left at MSBAC over the weekend. Left outside, they froze to death.

It seems the landlord of the cat owner had delivered an ultimatum: you can only keep the cat and one kitten. So, the rest were dumped. Dumped, despite having the offer of a safe haven with a rescuer.

About a week ago, MSBAC brought into its care 12 kittens and cats to the shelter from a group of at least 50 cats living in a ramshackle barn. Shelter staff continues to try to trap others. The unconfirmed report is a cat breeder in the area pitched out her door any cat past prime breeding age or otherwise wasn’t up to her standards. Another woman in the neighborhood, in her compassion, fed and cared for the cats outdoors as best she could.

But these were unaltered cats, and soon the neighborhood was overrun with kittens and cats.

Now the shelter staff and rescue volunteers are trying to rehabilitate these felines, who have had a hard-scrabble existence.

The common denominator in both cat-astrophies is the failure of people to spay their cats. Low-cost and free clinics and competitive pricing at some veterinary offices make altering an animal very affordable. But instead of giving their pets proper care, people have a litany of excuses for letting pets breed. Some even encourage it. Backyard breeders who see an easy profit in a litter of puppies or kittens may have few scruples when it comes to discarding an animal that fails to drop the requisite color and number of kittens or puppies. The recent case clearly illustrates that.

As a feline rescue, we see the trend of Mat-Su kittens and cats finding homes in Anchorage and around the state in places where less-transient populations and a higher percentage of altered animals make finding a kitten difficult. Let’s stop the trend of the Mat-Su Borough being the place where domestic animals breed out of control.

If you have an unaltered pet, prevent its breeding, preferably by altering. If you are interested in adopting a pet, contact a rescue group or MSBAC and provide a home to one of the many pets in need of one. If you must have a pedigreed pet and can find none to rescue, don’t patronize backyard breeders. Find a reputable breeder through a breed referral organization.

If you have a pregnant animal or a litter and need assistance, contact one of the area’s rescue organizations or MSBAC. The overpopulation of unwanted pets in Mat-Su isn’t a pet problem; it’s a people problem.

Vicki Naegele is on the board of directors of Alaska Cat Adoption Team (alaskacatadoptionteam.org; 982-ACAT), a 501(c)3 nonprofit rescue group, and can be reached at Vicki@alaskacatadoptionteam.org. This column is a public service of the Frontiersman.