CARMA to host Spay Day on Tuesday
Tuesday is a day to call attention to the overpopulation crisis within the local company, says Helen Baudoux-MacLaughlin, president of the Pictou County Chapter for Cat-Rescue Maritimes.
It will be International Spay Day so volunteers such as MacLaughlin see it as an opportunity to draw attention to the crisis which is caused by the failure of cat owners to spay or neuter their pets.
She said in recognition of International Spay Day, people should consider how they can make a difference; spay/neuter their own pet, donate to an animal welfare group, contact their town or municipal councillors and advocate for funding for TNR programs.
“These unspayed/unneutered cats become either free roaming or abandoned and will congregate wherever they can find shelter such as brush and debris piles, abandoned and derelict homes, under doorsteps and buildings and will feed from compost bins, garbage, bird feeders and rodents. As well, there will always be people who will feed these animals believing that without doing so the cats will suffer and die,” she said.
Once these cats congregate they form colonies which begin with one pregnant female who can produce at least a dozen kittens within a year. These kittens grow up to become feral cats unless exposed to people and socialized within the first few months of life. These feral cats are not suitable for adoption into homes yet despite being feral, have the same needs as tame domestic cats, including the need to be spay/neutered.
CARMA, Cat Rescue Maritimes, focuses on controlling community cat populations through a Trap, Neuter, and Return (TNR) program run by volunteers working with property owners and neighbourhoods.
TNR has been proven to be the only effective method of addressing the community cat overpopulation problem as attempts to remove or eliminate a community cat colony have been well documented as ineffective and results in the vacuum effect. The vacuum effect is a phenomenon scientifically recognized worldwide, across all types of animal species. Research has proven that a habitat will support a population of a certain size regardless of the number of animals removed; if resources remain the population will eventually recover.
Since the formation in 2006, CARMA chapters have spay/neutered just over 20,000 cats, thus preventing two million cats from being born (to save 100 cats, just spay one). Animal welfare groups, towns, municipalities and community members must work together to make the spay/neuter of all cats a priority.
“These unspayed/unneutered cats become either free roaming or abandoned and will congregate wherever they can find shelter such as brush and debris piles, abandoned and derelict homes, under doorsteps and buildings and will feed from compost bins, garbage, bird feeders and rodents. Helen Baudoux-MacLaughlin