Happy Cat Day! Yes indeed, cats are celebrated all over the world today, with the emphasis towards those needing to be rescued or adopted.
Cats have a tough time of it. Let's face it, you can pick up a cat anywhere. The strays are taking over at record numbers, and it isn't their fault. Without spay neuter laws, cats are prolific. In warmer climates, they come into heat three times a year versus the two times in colder areas. The numbers that an unaltered cat can produce through her offspring in her lifetime is staggering- 420,000 kittens in just seven years. The average cat has anywhere from one to eight kittens, at two to three litters a year, starting at around six months of age.
Even animal-loving PETA has weighed in unfavorably with New York City cat lovers in recent months, having argued that the city's overabundance of feral and stray cats would be better off being euthanized, according to CBS local. The popular TNR (Trap Neuter Return) policy, on the other hand, has gained more approval from cat lovers in New York, and it has helped other cities so well.
Because of the excessive numbers of cats across the nation (online adoption helper Petfinder shows in the U.S. at the very minute, 147,855 cats online waiting for a home), many rescues and shelters are giving cats away. Cats in Phoenix's Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (county shelter) are free, and at the Arizona Humane Society across town, you can plonk down a penny on the counter for a cat that is fully vaccinated, tested for FIV and F-Leuk, micro-chipped and altered.
But it's National Cat Day, and today we celebrate the ones needing a forever home. Among those helping these felines is the Stray Cat Alliance, which is heavy involved in the #CatsLivesMatter fundraiser by the Michelson Found Animal Pet Challenge that has raised over $1.8 million for cats needing a new home. California's Stray Cat Alliance has found loving homes for over 15,000 cats in their community in just the last three years.
If you have a cat, give it a hug and some perhaps a spoonful of tuna as a treat today. If you don't have a cat, hit the local shelter and see what you are missing. It could be the best decision you make today.
