The madness of kitten season has begun. We took in a female cat with her 12-week-old kitten and she is already pregnant again and ready to deliver anytime now. Yes, she can get pregnant again that fast. A female cat can get pregnant again two weeks after she delivers.
The sad part is Gabby is just a kitten herself.
(Courtesy of Lorraine Monfils)
We took in four other kittens that are approximately 10 weeks old. One recent night, we took in another pregnant female, ready to deliver any day now. This is just the beginning.
The only thing that can end this madness is to neuter and spay your pets. You can say that it was an unexpected pregnancy and that you didn’t mean for it to happen, but if you have an unspayed female, the reality is that she will get pregnant. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Rescue organizations are scrambling to educate and to neuter and spay as many cats as they can, but people are letting their cats reproduce faster than we can keep up with. Our reality is that we can’t make a difference in all of their lives, we can only make a difference for the ones we come in contact with.
For us in the rescue world, that is heartbreaking.
For every kitten or cat we rescue, there are hundreds that will never get the chance to be rescued. It is not because we don’t care; it is because their owners have failed them miserably.
A simple neuter or spay operation saves lives. By neutering and spaying your cats, you can save hundreds of lives. That is a pretty powerful thing.
We cannot do this alone. We need your help. Be a responsible pet owner: neuter and spay your pet. Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.
Thank you for your continued support and, as always, thank you for reading our column.
The Ark Animal Sanctuary is located at 102 Old Woodstock Rd., Houlton. Visit them online at arkanimalsanctuary.org/home, call 532-7387 or check out their Facebook page.
