Country Kittens

Who doesn't love a cute, cuddly kitten? Kittens are such fun to hold, and to watch, as they explore their surroundings, inevitably getting themselves into some kind of trouble, and getting themselves out of trouble again, just as quickly. I guess that's why people say that cats have nine lives...

My local grandkids have been enjoying their excess of kittens all summer. Kittens are nothing new in the Stobel household. Their first two kittens were found, abandoned at the end of their lane, a few years ago and the rest, as they say, is history. Meagan and Andy were pleased to find that their cats were excellent mousers, or perhaps I should say, volers, because they took care of the burgeoning vole population in record time, after all kinds of traps failed to make a difference in the hundreds of voles that had made their home in the Stobel yard. Since Meagan and Andy prefer cats to voles, the cats are there to stay.

And, really, that is the main reason why cats have been domesticated for thousands of years: they are excellent hunters that are able to control the populations of all kinds of varmints that would have otherwise overrun castles and hovels of old, as well as barns, village shops, and even libraries.

These days, cat owners are made to feel guilty if they fail to spay and neuter their cats. That is understandable, since one mama cat can produce more than 100 kittens in her lifetime, with up to eight kittens per litter, and two or three litters a year. If half of her kittens are unfixed females, she and her offspring can go on to have as many as 400 kittens in seven years. Whew!

The latest litter of seven 

However, it should go without saying that, if all cats were spayed or neutered, we would soon have zero cats. People would miss their pets. And even the feral city cats have value as mousers. I don't know about you, but I would rather have too many cats than too many rats! Even so, I think the trap and release program for city cats is valuable in controlling the cat population, without decimating it entirely. Remember, if you see an outdoor cat with a clipped ear, it has probably been trapped, neutered or spayed, and then released so it can continue to patrol the city streets without producing additional offspring.

The Stobel cats are healthy, and the adults are vaccinated so they don't contract rabies and pass it on to any other animals or people. But, country cats face more life-threatening perils than indoor cats do. They like to hide in warm engine compartments. They sometimes become prey for coyotes or owls. Even automatic garage doors can be life-threatening for tiny, unsuspecting kittens. And, of course, people who are looking for free kittens as pets or barn cats prefer tame, snuggly kittens that have been hand-raised by eager children, so the Stobel property is rarely overpopulated with full-grown cats.

I've heard that cat breeders are having trouble selling their purebred kittens, because of the current economy. And I know that most responsible owners of indoor cats choose to have their pets spayed or neutered. So please, don't harass the people who rely on their country cats to keep their rodent populations at bay. If none of their cats were able to produce kittens, they wouldn't be able to maintain a reasonable cat population to control their unwanted pests, and they wouldn't be able to offer healthy, free kittens to people who couldn't otherwise afford them.

By the way, if you're in need of a kitten, I know where you can find one.

The righteous care for the needs of their animals.

Proverbs 12:10