Miami's Cat Population

[starbugster]

Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow

A big problem I have encountered in Miami is that everyone wants to "breed" their little Fluffy and Spot. They all want to make a quick buck being "backyard breeders".

People adopt the pets, get tired of them when they are no longer cute little puppies and kitties and then toss them out like garbage instead of taking them to the Humane Society or a shelter. Many times its because they don't want to admit that they are unworthy of having an animal.

Every single one of my pets is a rescue. I didn't get them from a rescue, I rescued them from the Everglades where people have dumped them out there. Cats and dogs will not live out there. They will die.

The two dogs I have now were found in traffic when they were 3 months old. In traffic. One of their siblings had already been hit by a car and killed.

A friend of mine witnessed the car in front of him toss out a bag of kittens on to the road without stopping.

Unfortunately, too many people in this city, (and other cities), view animals as objects, NOT as living, breathing creatures.

So, what can you do about it besides complain? Go to Animal Control. They will help you with traps. You will bring those animals back to animal control and yes, they will be euthanized.

Yes, it is horrible. But, for every un spayed and neutered cat, there is the potential for over 100,000 new cats...JUST FROM THAT PAIR ALONE.

It is sickening that the animals have to pay for the disrespect and indifference of humans but the only way to control it is to get them off the streets.

Some rescues will also do "trap and release" but they are overwhelmed. Perhaps you could volunteer your time with a rescue and help them if you don't want to do the more dark task of trapping and returning to Animal Control.

Don't complain and do nothing. Help out. It's NOT the animals' fault.

Edit: By the way, there are people who get a kick out of abusing animals. Strays are prime targets for sick individuals who like to watch an animal suffer. Not too long ago, a year, maybe a bit more, a teen ager was arrested for torturing cats in his neighborhood. He did skin some of them. Not all of those cats were strays, some of them were loved and had a home; they were free to roam the neighborhood but were well taken care of. So yes, there are sick ********* out there who love to prey on roaming pets and strays. Keep that in mind if you have a pet.

Right on!! When I lived in Honolulu, about 3 months before relocating, one guy in the front apartment of the house we resided in, moved in his whacky girlfriend. To that point, he and his daughter had one male dog and one male cat, both unneutered. The ten-year old daughter didn't want her pets "cut". I even offered to pay to neuter the cat, as I was very fond of him (Simba). The dad was going to drive me to vet once, but then had second thoughts.

Then, the girlfriend adopted another very large puppy and two more kittens from the Hawaiian Humane Society.

I have since relocated to Westchester Co. NYS, with my darling cat of 14 years, but I still get news from old 'hood. The landlords, animal lovers, finally told the front-of-house morons to get rid of dogs. Simba is no longer wanted as he is no longer a kitten and another tenant from the house said she sees him every once in a while and he looks very thin and shabby, a stray.

These type of people make it very hard for people such as myself to get landlords to take a chance on offering pet friendly residences to those of us who really take being a pet parent very seriously. I'm getting involved in TNR in my new locale, and attempting to get my landlord to listen to how this program keeps new cats from coming in, and the three little spayed/neutered feral cats are very shy and non-aggressive. (The landlord doesn't like that I feed these 3 cats, so I limit it to only putting out food for about one hour daily. Also, I'm under more scrutiny as a pet owner. My landlord has stepped up inspections of my apartment and threatens to fine me over $100 for professional cleaning, and I'm low income.) I also think education is needed in my new community about taking pet ownership as a big responsibility (as it truly is), spay and neuter of pets, and limit to only 1 or 2 pets. If all pet lovers did that, I'm sure a lot more landlords would take more chances with pet owners and not be so wary of pet owners.

It is just a lose-lose-lose situation all the way around.

[SassySpice]

Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow

A big problem I have encountered in Miami is that everyone wants to "breed" their little Fluffy and Spot. They all want to make a quick buck being "backyard breeders".

People adopt the pets, get tired of them when they are no longer cute little puppies and kitties and then toss them out like garbage instead of taking them to the Humane Society or a shelter. Many times its because they don't want to admit that they are unworthy of having an animal.

Every single one of my pets is a rescue. I didn't get them from a rescue, I rescued them from the Everglades where people have dumped them out there. Cats and dogs will not live out there. They will die.

The two dogs I have now were found in traffic when they were 3 months old. In traffic. One of their siblings had already been hit by a car and killed.

A friend of mine witnessed the car in front of him toss out a bag of kittens on to the road without stopping.

Unfortunately, too many people in this city, (and other cities), view animals as objects, NOT as living, breathing creatures.

So, what can you do about it besides complain? Go to Animal Control. They will help you with traps. You will bring those animals back to animal control and yes, they will be euthanized.

Yes, it is horrible. But, for every un spayed and neutered cat, there is the potential for over 100,000 new cats...JUST FROM THAT PAIR ALONE.

It is sickening that the animals have to pay for the disrespect and indifference of humans but the only way to control it is to get them off the streets.

Some rescues will also do "trap and release" but they are overwhelmed. Perhaps you could volunteer your time with a rescue and help them if you don't want to do the more dark task of trapping and returning to Animal Control.

Don't complain and do nothing. Help out. It's NOT the animals' fault.

Edit: By the way, there are people who get a kick out of abusing animals. Strays are prime targets for sick individuals who like to watch an animal suffer. Not too long ago, a year, maybe a bit more, a teen ager was arrested for torturing cats in his neighborhood. He did skin some of them. Not all of those cats were strays, some of them were loved and had a home; they were free to roam the neighborhood but were well taken care of. So yes, there are sick ********* out there who love to prey on roaming pets and strays. Keep that in mind if you have a pet.

Excellent post & as a sincere animal lover myself & proud member of the Humane Society of US I want to know if in your vicinity you have any no kill shelters, that would be a much better solution then giving them to animal control shelters.

And re: the bolded text I have to wonder how many animals have you rescued? Your love & compassion for animals if you rescue too many can easily turn into a case of being a animal horder, & that's not a good thing either because you'll be overwhelmed. I'm not criticzing because I understand your compassion, I feel it as well, just asking.

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Originally Posted by SassySpice

Excellent post & as a sincere animal lover myself & proud member of the Humane Society of US I want to know if in your vicinity you have any no kill shelters, that would be a much better solution then giving them to animal control shelters.

And re: the bolded text I have to wonder how many animals have you rescued? Your love & compassion for animals if you rescue too many can easily turn into a case of being a animal horder, & that's not a good thing either because you'll be overwhelmed. I'm not criticzing because I understand your compassion, I feel it as well, just asking.

You really don't need to worry about me hoarding. I'm not a fool. As I said in my post, I worked with a rescue who helped me find homes for many of the cats I found out there that were dumped. The ones I took in were ones that we just couldn't get adopted. I know my limits.

As for no kill...who knows anymore. They used to say the Broward Humane Society was no kill but apparently it is. I don't know of any no kill shelters there. Maybe someone does.

Also, a proud member of the HSUS? You do what makes you happy but I think you realllllllllllly need to read up on the HSUS. If you are true animal lover, I think what you uncover will make you angry.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Most animals shelters here are full and don't accept new animals

i think some of the worst animal abusers are those irresponsible owners that let their pets breed. I've seen that a lot with dogs.

Spaying/neutering a pet its not that expensive. They also have affordable programs through the cat network and animal control.($15 for cats $25 for dogs)

Like Threewolvesinsnow said, sometimes the best solution is to take stray cats to animal control where they will be euthanized. Of course if you have a huge heart, plenty of time and money, you can try TNR(trap, neuter release)but you gotta have a lot of patience for that because you need to keep the cat inside for a few days.

[starbugster]

So, what can you do about it besides complain? Go to Animal Control. They will help you with traps. You will bring those animals back to animal control and yes, they will be euthanized. (Three Wolves in Snow)

New York State has a large population, and in the county I just moved to, there is a strong "no-kill" ethic. The flip side of that problem is the shelters are over-filled. Even the best ones try to fit in as many as humanely possible, but there is no room at the inn any more. I don't want the "no-kill" mentality to change, but between that, and not as many landlords willing to allow pets in our homes unless we pay through the nose, there are now cat colonies forming. I'm at odds with my landlord who has a "no pets" clause in lease because I am insisting upon my right as a disabled person to have a companion animal that makes any of those clauses null and void. I also feed on property not owned by my landlord, but adjacent to it, 3 feral cats for one hour daily. Then I clean up and discard uneaten food. I clean like a fool these days and still being threatened with professional cleaning costs (over $100).

I'm only dealing with one cat, the issues around pet/animal rights and what is humane when some people find animals so very inconvenient, and I am an emotional wreak these days. My cat is worth this price, but as long as there are sociopaths that are irresponsible with animals, there will be landlords as wary and defensive as my landlord. It is distressing!!