06/01/2026
Did you know that approximately 80% of kittens born outdoors die before they are six months old? That up to half a million cats and kittens are euthanized in shelters each year? That female kittens can become pregnant as young as 4 months old? That a single unspayed female cat and her offspring can produce hundreds of kittens over several years?
These are the statistics that keep us up at night.
The amount of suffering and overpopulation in our communities is staggering, and it can feel impossible to make a difference. But if we are serious about reducing the number of homeless cats, kittens entering shelters/rescues, and animals suffering on the streets, we have to address the root of the problem.
And to be clear: shelters that are forced to euthanize for space are not the problem. Open-intake shelters cannot simply say no when animals arrive at their doors. The problem is that far more kittens are being born than there are homes available for them.
We cannot adopt our way out of this crisis.
SPAY AND NEUTER IS THE SOLUTION!
If you've ever noticed a cat you feed has shown up with a small straight-cut portion missing from the tip of one ear, this means this cat has been altered and vaccinated through a TNR (trap-neuter-return) program. The procedure does not hurt the cat, and the ear tip helps volunteers avoid trapping the same cat again.
This ear tip represents progress! It represents a cat who will never produce another litter of kittens destined to struggle outdoors or enter an already overwhelmed shelter system. It represents a male cat who will not feel compelled to roam or fight with other cats. Every ear-tipped cat you see represents a cycle that has been broken.
Every ear tip took time.
Every ear tip took money.
Every ear tip took compassion.
Two of our volunteers have been performing TNR on their own time and at their own expense. Cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear tipped for identification, and returned to the outdoor home they know, where caretakers continue to provide food.
However, two volunteers cannot solve a community-wide problem alone.
If you are giving away kittens, please make plans to have the mother cat spayed. If you find kittens outdoors, remember that there is almost always a mother cat nearby who has been caring for them. If you feed community cats, get them fixed. If you cannot trap or transport, offer to help someone who can. If you are able, donate to local spay/neuter and TNR efforts. There are dozens of low-cost options all around the state.
While the problem seems insurmountable, there is a proven solution. Please spay and neuter, and be part of that solution.
Every cat fixed today can prevent suffering tomorrow.
