A cruel alternative

About a year ago, my neighborhood was becoming overpopulated with stray cats. Nobody was feeding them, and they were hunting all the sparrows and mourning doves.

I used all my personal charm to get two of them to let me pet them. They did not act like feral cats, but more like semi-friendly juveniles. I transported them to the Palmdale animal shelter, and they took the two kitties in and promised to put them up for adoption.

Now my neighborhood is plagued once again with stray cats. These are mostly juveniles that have just come out of kittenhood and are friendly, not feral.

My neighbor across the street decided that since I had met with success taking two to the animal shelter, this year he would do the same thing. So two days ago, he transported two of them to the Lancaster animal shelter on Avenue I.

The officer at the Lancaster animal shelter told him that the policy had been changed. Now, the animal shelter will not accept cats. Period. He said that the cats had been reclassified as “wildlife”, and he suggested that my neighbor take the two kitties out into the desert and release them. He recommended a location where there is empty desert and no people.

The nights here now are freezing cold.

The desert is home to coyotes, poisonous snakes, and hungry birds of prey. It would be a hostile environment for any kitten or cat.

I have never worked at an animal shelter, so I am not familiar with the stresses that enforced euthanasia has on staff.

But it does seem exceedingly cruel to release these animals into the wild and make zero attempt to offer them up for adoption.

Art Sirota

Lancaster