Why, why, WHY do kittens have to be so damn cute?
(insert mental picture of four week old orange kitten with huge blue eyes staring at you)
We have too many cats around here already. I like cats, and I haven't seen a mouse in the house or cook shed for ages, but I hate to think what they might be doing to the local bird population.
I didn't ask for cats. They just showed up from the farm across the road. Evil Calico, the wild eyed matriarch of the kitty clan, decided to have a litter of kittens here two summers ago. Then another litter last year. Natural selection, tomcat predation, and my inattentive driving have kept the population somewhat under control, which is good because I don't have the money to spay or neuter the whole herd and, with the kids around, I don't have the heart to shoot any of them...yet.
I had the urge to do in Evil Calico last night, after she tore a chunk of flesh from my finger as I was tossing out some meat scraps. Evil Calico has never been a nice kitty, the kind that curls around your legs and purrs. She lurks in the shadows, looking out with her demonic green eyes. But she is a scrapper and a survivor, and a fierce mother. Just after the hypodermic clawing incident, as I was whimpering and wrapping my finger with a Band Aid, Cub told me to come look at something. And there it was, The Kitten. Awwwwww....how cute. How damn cute. The big-eyed spawn of Evil Calico herself.
Thank goodness there's just one. For now.
2 comments:
There are charities that help with cost of spaying/neutering--your local humane society would know about it. And yes indeed, they do have a major impact on birds and other wildlife. One study found that well-fed housecats killed an average of 900 birds and other small animals per year. Cats in rural areas actually extirpate all but the most cat-savvy species of songbirds. Cats live longer and have fewer health problems (i.e. smaller vet bills) if they're kept indoors; you just have to make sure you play with them so they don't tear up the furniture.
Unfortunately, our county does not even have a local Humane Society. As far as I know, and I've checked, there are no charities that will pay for the spaying/neutering of cats around here. If it weren't for the children, I'd certainly go for the shooting option, which is as humane as anything in my book. We have three cats in the house; Alexander the tomcat, whom I will have neutered when we have extra cash, just because he is is a lovable doofus; Alexandria, his sister, who we banished outside when she started urinating on our down comforter; maybe spaying would help? and Tiny, who was born last October and for whom we felt sympathy when it was 20 below on Christmas Eve, thus becoming a housecat.
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