Root Cause of the Problem

According to a Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals market research survey conducted in 2006, 6% of all pet cats are not spayed or neutered. This appears to be a relatively small number—only about 6,000 in Worcester County and 50,000 statewide. But once lost or abandoned, these 6% in the home become 66% of all homeless street cats, or 50,000-150,000 cats in Central Massachusetts (500,000–1.2M statewide)!

The root cause of homelessness precipitated by nuisance behaviors of cats in homes and on the streets is clear: the lack of spaying and neutering to curb both behavior and population growth. Invariably, the influencing factor is one of economics. 

Economically challenged pet owners feel helpless and overwhelmed. Cats are pushed outside and forced to cope, often having to forage for food and shelter for the first time in their lives. Once on the street, whether they are new to the outdoors or born there, cats instinctually migrate together and form colonies for mutual benefit. It is no coincidence that colonies of homeless cats are found predominantly in economically challenged urban neighborhoods due to the lack of funds to spay and neuter. 

Early in our organization’s history it became clear that the crisis of homelessness among cats was far from just a problem of suffering cats whose population needed to be reduced. A sizeable number of homeless cats do not suffer at all. They are healthy and robust, living comfortably out of dumpsters, under porches, in abandoned buildings; fed by kindly caretakers or not. Their disease incident rate, 6-8%, is no higher than the domestic indoor housecat, as documented in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, October 2004. 

The problem begins for homeless cats with intervention from humans—and in two fundamental ways.  First, suffering begins (for the human as well) almost immediately when a domesticated housecat of any age loses his or her home. Due to the nuisance behaviors of intact (not spayed or neutered) cats, such as spraying, in-heat yowling, territorial fighting, and endless kittens, coupled with the lack of funds to spay/neuter, domestic life as they have known it can end quite abruptly.  

Second, the quality of life of those that have adapted to the outdoors is again challenged when people are overwhelmed by their numbers, their behaviors (spraying, fighting, littering gardens, walking on cars), and find them to be nuisances or their welfare cause for concern.

In most cases intervention by Animal Control results in the cats being rounded up for extermination or a one-way trip to the pound. People putting out little sheltering structures and bowls of kibble can often divide neighborhoods, as it draws attention to the numbers of cats in a single setting and puts a human face on the blame.

Working to address this root cause through affordable and accessible spay/neuter services is our main goal. But we need your support. Click here to find out how you can help!