Transport or Not To Transport

Happy Cyber Monday! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday and was able to enjoy their family and loved ones. If you are doing your online shopping this fine Monday morning, feel free to take a quick look at our Community Cats Podcast Store. All proceeds go to help Community Cats Podcast produce the over 100 shows that we have done so far this year, along with the ones yet to come! In the meantime, let’s talk about if we should Transport or Not To Transport. There are so many questions!

Now that it is November in the Northeast, many more cats and dogs will be transported up from the South. Primarily, they will be put up for adoption in our shelters. Many adoption centers in the Northeast, however, have lowered their intake numbers. They’ve implemented very aggressive high volume spay/neuter programs that have reduced the incoming numbers of dogs and now cats. Ten years ago those of us in the field would never have thought we would see the day when our organizations are running out of kittens and CATS (yes cats!). Now, however, we are seeing that happen.

Transport or Not To Transport

• Do we bring more cats and kittens up from the South?
• Does this encourage continued breeding in those communities?
• Because of the cost, are we better off funding these groups with support and services to help them become more self-sustaining?
• Will there always be overpopulation in the South due to year-round breeding?

In areas where we are in “maintenance mode” for population control, we also tend to see a “Craigslist” bump. This implies that “backyard breeders” are providing our communities with the kittens they want, instead. We have begun seeing some of that in the Northeast.

Also, isn’t our role in animal welfare much, much more than just adopting out cats and kittens? If we aren’t as burdened with the population issue what about other areas? Doesn’t that open up more resources for us to be more supportive to local communities to ensure that their pets have a good standard of living? This brings me to a new term that I have heard a few times, “community medicine”.

As you can tell, I’m full of questions that I really don’t have answers to. Therefore, I am reaching out to you to hear your thoughts on the concept of Transport or Not To Transport around the country. Please go to the Community Cats Facebook Page and let me know!

Have a great week everyone! Hopefully the weather won’t be too hard on our community cats.