Miami's Cat Population (rentals, condos, house)

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by Kinetic_A

That is sick. People do that?

Thanks for the info Doggiebus.

There was this one little stray cat who used to visit me. He was very sociable. He'd just come by every now and then, meow at me and hang around for awhile. I thought it was very sweet. Bad news is he paid for his friendliness. One day when he came by something terrible had happened to his left eye. I'm sorry to say it looked like someone burned it out with a cigar.

[Kinetic_A]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

There was this one little stray cat who used to visit me. He was very sociable. He'd just come by every now and then, meow at me and hang around for awhile. I thought it was very sweet. Bad news is he paid for his friendliness. One day when he came by something terrible had happened to his left eye. I'm sorry to say it looked like someone burned it out with a cigar.

That is horrible.

[Alley01]

In some people's defense, I can see why they would feed a lot of those cats. In order to capture them through spay/neuter programs which I am sure are around in the area, you have to get them to trust those who feed them. If they do, then they are much easier to capture. I would suggest rather than griping about all of this, to start working with a local humane society with their mobile spay/neuter programs to serve these areas. Reducing the amount that can reproduce does make a difference. In our previous area, we were very active with a vet community that would do the mobile neuter and spay of feral cat colonies. I have no doubt that they made a big difference in the overpopulation. Plus, they educated the people in those communities to realize how important sterilization was.

Here is more information:

Low cost or free cat spay-neuter programs in U.S.: Florida spaying neutering programs . Love That Cat Store

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by Kinetic_A

That is horrible.

Yeah it really was. To me it was one of those sad telltale signs of the real dangers when a good gentle creature is too open and trusting - how the evil ones so often invariably exploit that.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

If the cars are neutered and spayed they will stop the heat noises and most of the time will stop getting into fights with other cats.

It's hard to trap an animal. Unless he trusts you a lot(which is uncommon for feral cats) you would need a trap cage. I don't know if the cat's organizations borrow those. Or you can buy one but I think they are like $75-$100 on Amazon. Then you can either take them to animal control or make an appointment at one of those mobile clinics and they will spay them for free or a small fee. I think female cars need to be taken care of for 3 days after the surgery. You also need to make sure you trap the cat the night before the surgery because they need to have an empty stomach(no food or water for a few hours)

[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.

[jasper12]

They do have free spay/nueter clinics for feral cats, The Cat Network
A person I know adopted a cat off the street, and we took the cat there for shots, and neuter. They also clip the ear.

[ecofancy]

GatorMama....good post. There is a pet overpopulation problem in this country...and most of the developed world for that matter. Adoption is the only way.

[boxus]

I love the tired old Craigs list excuse of "I adopted a cat and found out my kid is allergic, so I need to get rid of it, rehome for $50"..........Translate to: "I got a cute kitten, but it lost its cuteness and we are tired of it, so I want to get rid of it and get something else, maybe a bunny, anything to keep my snowflake entertained".

[ecofancy]

Definitely, another trend is with names of dogs...usually pits. There are always dogs 4-8 months for adoption with names like "baby" "precious" "princess" etc. I can only imagine they bought a puppy without seeing it as a long term commitment as a dog. The puppy cuteness wore off, and now they have a handful. A large, strong, poorly trained dog named "baby" is nonsensical. A sad reality indeed.