Over 600 a Year

There is a question that nags at me for which I have no good answer. Why is it that there is no outrage, no shocked disbelief, not even a tear drop when I tell people that the shelter has to kill over 600 cats and kittens each year. Last year it was over 700. If I were to tell them that many dogs and puppies they would be horrified. They would say something had to be done about this terrible problem! Letters would be written to politicians, money would be donated, laws would be passed. But with cats, most shake their heads as if to say "how sad" and move on. The thought of that many lost, individual feline lives doesn't touch the nerve that dogs do. Even cat owners, people who share their lives with cats often seem to place less value on the lives of this species. The question is a difficult one but important for shelters. It affects us in so many ways. For instance, people don't put identification on cats nor do they come looking for their lost cats. Less than 1% of cats are returned to their owners. They are much more willing to abandon or relinquish cats. Boxes of puppies are rarely left anymore but boxes of abandoned kittens are a common sight. People are less willing to spend money to get their cats spayed, neutered or vaccinated. And, even though it costs shelters money to care for cats, people balk at having to pay much to adopt a cat. Local communities are much more willing to tolerate thousands of homeless or feral cats despite the short and miserable lives these animals live. Can you imagine a city with even a few hundred feral dogs? And what makes the problem even more frustrating is that the solution seems so elusive. Sure we can do spay/neuter clinics and educate people about overpopulation. We can trap and kill colonies of feral cats. But how do we - or can we - make people feel compassion for cats? How do we make every feline life worth caring about too? I wish I knew.