Cats are one of the most beloved pets to humans beings. Though they provided a sense of comfort and love, there is a dark side to these soft, adorable, felines. Cats, both domestic and feral, poses a serious threat to native bird populations in the United States and health risk to both people and other animals. It is important that people realize the impact that feral cats have in the environment that they inhabit and how it not only effects other species, but us humans as well. Feral cats have no form of human interaction and therefore are difficult and or nearly impossible to assimilate as a regular house pet. There appears to be limited options on what can be done to help assist in the reduction of feral cat populations without sparking controversy from cats lovers and animal rights groups.
Unlike dogs, cats retained their predation instincts. It is because of this trait that the concern for the native population of birds has risen. In the United States alone, there are about 95.5 million owned cats, this is excludes feral ones. Cats were introduce to the North American continent in 1498 by the Spaniards; so cats have only been on this continent for about five-hundred years; in retrospect, cats are considered an invasive species. Because cats are an invasive species, other species such as birds and small rodents did not develop and adaptation of instinctual strategies to survive against this new predator; “Feral cat populations have been linked to reduction in bird diversity, extirpation of insular species and toxoplasmosis infections in otters, monk seals, and dozens of species of birds”(Lohr,Linda,Christopher).
According to Smithsonian colleague Scott Loss and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about a billion of birds have ...
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Thousands of animals are put to sleep each year due to not having any available homes for them to be adopted. According to Jennifer Sexton and Tom Warhol in Domestic Animal Overpopulation, “The average female cat can produce two litters of six kittens per year, a female dog can produce one litter of six or more puppies per year, making pet overpopulation a significant problem.” Animal overpopulation is costing money and you can help the pets with spay and neutering programs. A new solution is mandatory contracts for breeders and spay and neuter programs. This paper will talk about spay and neuter programs, contracts for breeders, and why some people don’t think animal overpopulation is a problem. Thankfully there are solutions to this issue of animal overpopulation.
For many cat owners, their cat’s impulse to scratch can become a disastrous problem. Cat owners believe that the only logical solution is to have the cat declawed. It’s natural for cats to scratch and use their our claws to live their daily lives. Cats use their claws to play, climb, and in many situations as a form of self-defense. So the question that presents itself, is it really necessary for cat owners to have cats declawed. The only problem with declawing cats is that it is unnecessary and inhumane mutilation. Many cat owners should be more aware take advantage of the other safer and more humane alternatives for their cats.
Clinical Infectious Diseases, 49(3), 438-443. Doi:10.1086/600391. See full address and map. Medicare.gov/Hospital Compare - The Official U.S. Government Site for Medicare (n.d).
The lack of awareness programs attributes to animal hoarding greatly. The Robinson Rescue is an organization that “educate[s] pet owners about the importance of spay/neuter as a means of ending pet overpopulation.” ( ). This organization shows children how they should think of animals so that they do not abuse their animals like a case in which the defendants argued “that pets are classified as personal property…” and that they have feelings too (Donaghey 2011) (Gunnarson). Few people realize that 354 animals are eutha...
"Bloodborne Pathogens : MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
Animals are precious, loving, and sweet creatures but many are having their lives cut short. Did you know that 7.6 million animals enter shelters every year? Of those animals, thirty one percent of dogs are euthanized and forty one percent of cats are euthanized. If you do the math, that is 2.4 million dogs and 3.1 million cats. Why are we doing this to our animals? They're living creatures just like us, even if they can't tell us. As you read this paper, you'll learn about what euthanization is, learn the reasons for shelters killing our furry friends, and get an inside look at the terrible practice of euthanization.
Countless lives locked away in cages and forgotten about have overwhelmed our society, it has left blood stains on our history as a species and if history has taught us anything, it’s that we have a choice to change our ways of adjusting to situations. A war which was fought in pursuit of ending such criminal means, yet we as human beings do little to nothing to end the horrific crimes of animal deaths in shelters. It is no secret that this world has become infused with problems that have extended from one side of the globe to the other. Amongst these problems lies a terrible truth: nearly every year, sums of almost eight million cats and dogs have been placed in shelters around the world. Out of these vast numbers, half will be euthanized; that equals to one animal being put down every 8 seconds. Animals that are not adopted are kept in shelters until they find a home. Most of these shelters do not have enough space or resources to care for the animal. Only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter animal shelters are reunited with their owners. The majority of pets are obtained from acquaintances and family members. Twenty-six percent of dogs are purchased from breeders, 20 to 30 percent of cats and dogs are adopted from shelters and rescues, and 2 to 10 percent are purchased from pet shops. In addition, only 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized. The 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered, while 78 percent of dogs and 88 percent of cats are not spayed or neutered, in 2009 Statistics from animal shelters in 55 counties in WV (West Virginia) shows that nearly 54% of all animals entering shelters are euthanized, The euthanasia rates ranged from the lowest at 5% to the highe...
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"Pet Overpopulation : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. The Humane Society of
Today’s domestic house cats sure have changed and traveled far from their old wildcat ancestors across the world. Cats have traveled halfway across the world and now live around the world in various breeds and sizes. Even though they live today in their domesticated form they still retain some of the traits that their ancestors bestowed upon them. The African wildcat is believed to be the ancestor of all domestic cats, and they’re even still alive to this day. Over thousands of years of speciation, domestic house cats came to be from these wildcat ancestors.
Wilkey, Mark. "Why Do So Many People Keep Pets?" ArticleSnatch Free Article Directory. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
Pets are a common sight in many households today. In fact, according to the APPMA National Pet Owners Survey, 63 percent of U.S. households own a pet. At the top of this percentage are dogs and cats. One of the most important decisions an owner of a dog or cat has to make is whether or not to get them spayed or neutered. There are various reasons why people choose to not have this done, but all those reasons can be proven invalid. Many factors come in to play as why this is such an important thing to do. The effects of dogs and cats not being spayed or neutered has become such a major issue that it should be a law that all pet owners have to get their pet spayed or neutered.
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.