At 3am, I am working on packing up ebay jewelry, thinking about our new voucher program and how it will progress in the new year. My mind begins wandering to all of the well-meaning people who are feeding unfixed cats. You have some choices to make this winter.
Spring is coming and so are kittens!
The stress of sick, breeding animals is something you will face every day when feeding an unfixed group of cats. Soon you will find babies with mother cats who were hit by cars struggling to find enough food to feed their families. You will lose sleep over what to do with the babies, not enough homes, neighbors angry over all of the new cats they are seeing, and all of the other stress that comes with cat breeding and watching that much suffering.
So here you are with a new year starting...and you have a choice to make: feeder or caretaker?
Sometimes it is hard to act when you are just not sure how to do the right thing. We are here to help you!!! We can change how you manage your colony and how you see yourself as a true caretaker. Wouldn't it be better to wake up one day soon and think:
After all of the years of worrying about the cats I feed and not having the money to buy more and more food I am so glad I made a difference. I learned to be a caretaker! I found this group who taught me how to trap. It was hard to make the decision but I did what I knew was best for the cats. I could not afford a thousand dollars in vet bills but they helped. So this morning I am waking up to fat, lazy feral kitties and NO MORE KITTENS!
I am so glad I asked all of my friends and family to help me out of this stressful situation. I found people who love me enough to help with with rides to the vet so that I don't have to face another year crying of more dead babies I found in my yard.
I didn't think my neighbors were nice but it turns out that by talking to enough of them I found people who also wanted to get the cat population under control and pitch in ! I am so glad I took the chance. It was worth a few unfriendly neighbors to find an ally.
This year instead of asking for others to TNR I became empowered, and educated myself. I am no longer at the mercy of my town or strangers on the internet. I know how to manage the cats I love and make sure they have a better life.
This year I missed my vacation at the beach, but I am so glad I used those days off to help the cats. No, I may not have as many days of sand between my toes for a week, but I also won't up every day worried about finding more sick kittens.
There is no doubt that TNR is work. I have done it for over 25 years. We all start in the same position. We start stressed out, frantic, afraid of what will happen when there are so many cats that we can no longer afford to feed. We worry about what others will do when we have helped to breed so many that it is now affecting the quality of life of neighbors.
Will the town trap and kill them?
Will someone start poisoning?
Will a virus end up in the colony of unvaccinated cats that will kill many of them?
It is awful and we have all been there.
So here is my question to you: How do you want to start the new year? Who do you want to become? For me no matter how stressful learning to trap, vet trips, and talking to strangers was, it was FAR less stressful than the alternatives. Today if I see a cat in my yard, I know what to do and how to do it.
Yes, it is still work, but action is far better than living in a constant state of fear over what will happen next.
YOU can control that. You are in a much better position than many of us were decades ago. WE can teach you. We can help you with finances.
Make the decision today to be a better YOU.
Make the decision to become a care taker of the cats you love enough to feed.
You don't need to take on the world.
Just resolve to take care of your little corner of it.
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