News
Aug 09 2010
A word from SART
As we have passed through the summer months and “kitten season” there are so many thoughts the people of SART have had, I felt that I needed to voice some of our thoughts and concerns. It amazes us how so many think that dumping a young life into the streets is the answer. It takes care of the people not having the responsibility, but all it does for the animal is put it in harm’s way. Like human babies, little kittens need a lot of care. They need to be fed, loved and medically cared for – who does that on the street? I know if you are reading this post, you are probably not a person who can dump a baby or litter of babies along a road, in a park, by the lake, or in someone’s trash, taped in a box, or in a bag. But you might know someone who has done this. Please tell them. The kittens either starve, resort to eating bugs and garbage, or are killed by other hungry animals trying to survive. We have received kittens that ate grass to survive, or have eaten so much garbage that their little insides are full of worms. It takes so much care to get these little ones healthy – what point were these people making when they chose to dump these little innocent creatures?
The answer is to spay or neuter your pets. It is the only way we will get a handle on the population and get control of the amount of cats there are. If you are feeding strays, please know that as you can you should capture and get them fixed. Even if you put them back out and continue to feed them. If you start feeding 2 or 3 strays, within a year you will be feeding 20. They will multiply so quickly and then you will be overwhelmed. But if you capture, get them cared for and then put them back out and continue to feed, it will remain the ones you are caring for and they will be better mannered, healthy and happy. It is amazing to see the transformation take place after a cat has been fixed. The wild instincts are gone, they do not fight, mate, mark or howl. Then you can peacefully enjoy watching these beautiful animals as they come to feed and greet you.
In the Bible it says: “Good people are kind to their animals, but a mean person is cruel.” Proverbs 12:10. I truly believe, as the volunteers of SART also agree, it is God’s intention for us to watch over the innocent and helpless. So try to open your hearts to the possibility of caring for the strays you see in your neighborhoods. If neighbors would come together, get these animals fixed, and enjoy what they have to offer, over time we will get to a place where our inn is less crowded, and only a few will have to come live here.
Take a moment and think about how you could help in this ongoing issue. Do you want to be kind, or do you want to be cruel? I would think we would all sleep a little more soundly at night knowing that we had done the right thing for one of God’s creatures.
