Now, these kittens don't have anywhere to be (apparently) but under our deck. We had a party and they've invaded big-time, with their adolescent parents diving into the trash cans for chicken bones and scraps of burger bun. I'm worried about them carrying pests, getting sick, and worse - producing more kittens.
There's a place in Santa Cruz that will do low-cost altering of feral cats, but they have to be trapped first and apparently we'd have to do the trapping - but we'd be on the hook for $25/cat. That's currently $225 (six babies and three adolescents) spent on cats I don't want or like. Not to mention that we just bought a house - we don't have two pennies to rub together right now, let alone that much money to fix cats that aren't ours.
Here's the ethical dilemma - I could just call the humane society, have them all picked up, and be pretty damn confident that they will be picked up, placed up for adoption (possibly) for a few days, and then put to sleep. This is no skin off my nose whatsoever. On the other hand, just because I don't like cats doesn't mean I think they have to die. That's not right either.
I'm at a loss, here, people. I need Wilford Brimley BAD. I need to know the right thing to do AND a way to do it.
Comments
http://www.petsunlimited.org/adopt/default.htm
B) You don't have to spay/neuter all the cats-- just the females.
C) The kittens are about a month old? So, they'd be go-homeable in about a month? Hmmm.... (want. kitten. so. bad....)
D) Santa Cruz has well enough too many cats. Don't feel too badly about taking them to the shelter. Seriously, they will either find homes or, well, at least they won't have the sad life of disease and the stress of living the stray life all the time. The Santa Cruz animal control shelter (in Scotts Valley) euthanizes, yes, but it does so after more than a week or 10 days. They really do try to find homes for the strays. You can also rent a cat trap from them for a few days if you need to catch the cats before bringing them in.
It's not working.
If that doesn't sit well, there is option (2). Trap them, and take them to a no-kill shelter. I believe Peninsula is a no-kill center. As is SF, maybe.