Efren Martinez: Neutering feral cats helps control pests, reduces suffering
Every spring I find a couple of cat litters behind my workshed. It’s disheartening to know that some of these poor creatures won’t make it to their first birthdays; some might starve within the first three weeks of life. Help me end this suffering.
The Stanislaus County Animal Shelter has a free spay and neuter program. If you trap a feral cat, the shelter will fix and return it to your neighborhood. This helps keep problems with rodents, lizards and insects in check and spares a life from suffering or being put down. You can rent several cat traps for $2 per trap per day so that your trips to the shelter can be maximized.
Once these feral cats have been spayed or neutered, you can identify them with a nipped left ear. This is important so you don’t waste your time trapping a cat neutered. If you’re a cat owner, and allow your cat to roam your neighborhood, make sure it has an ID collar so a person like me who’s trying to help control pet overpopulation, doesn’t accidentally mistake your pet for a feral cat. Be responsible, spay and neuter your pet.
Efren Martinez, Modesto
This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Efren Martinez: Neutering feral cats helps control pests, reduces suffering."