Cat overpopulation in the United States - a FULL discussion

This is a comprehensive discussion about cat overpopulation in the United States. Core information comes from The Welfare of Cats (ISBN 978-1-4020-6143-1). If on occasion I sound like someone who fervently believes that we can do better and that the current situation is untenable then it is true, I am. I think people have to become more passionate about this subject because we can't ignore it.

A well-known picture signifying cat overpopulation! Image in the public domain.

I will minimise stating my opinion but will refer to the opinion and work of Americans in studies. I can't quote what they say because that would be a violation of their copyright. What I write will be a précis (a summary in my words). That way no one can criticise an outsider for commenting on something he knows nothing about. I actually know quite a lot about it through reading.

It is a grizzly subject but one that has been around so long and become so entrenched that is has been normalized. All the problems and issues about cat welfare in the USA pale into insignificance next to the welfare problems associated with cat overpopulation because it leads to their mass euthanasia.

Apparently, every minute of every day, four cats are killed at shelters in the USA (2012). Makes you think, doesn't it? Since first addressing this issue things have improved but there is a long way to go.

It is ironic that 90% of Americans think of their cat as a family member. A lot of former family members are being deliberately killed every day. It seems that cats are more disposable than dogs as there are some shelters where demand outstrips supply - something that is unheard of in the cat world.

Cat overpopulation is dictated by:

1. Overbreeding
2. Breakdown of human/cat relationship leading to relinquishment
3. Failure to sterilise cats
4. Requirement to increase adoptions from shelters.

Introduction

America is divided into people who see the huge numbers of unwanted cats that are deliberately killed each year (euthanized) as a tragedy and those who act irresponsibly and who regard their cat as disposable. The latter group are indifferent to the mass slaughter and to the suffering that their actions cause the cat. Perhaps many are blind to it. They just don't think about it.

The attitude that cats are disposable is handed down from generation to generation. The cycle remains unbroken to this day. The origins of this mentality are unknown. I have made some tentative proposals (first and second). Comment: one comes to mind while writing this. 

If veterinarians set standards that undermine respect for the cat, it must be a contributing factor. It may be a major factor because what the vet does is a form of education and leadership to cat owners in the US. If vets treat cats as a commodity by which a profit can be earned it sends out the wrong message. Vets have an important role to play that goes well beyond treating cats with medical problems. Declawing cats is indicative of treating cats as commodities. 

Vets don't realise that when they declaw, they not only mutilate cats unnecessarily but they also teach cat owners that cats are customizable. And that is a bad lesson to learn. It means they can be discarded as and when necessary.

Cat Overpopulation Defined

Some people refer to a 'surplus of cats'. Others say that there is no cat overpopulation problem but an organisational problem of placing relinquished cats with homes that want a cat. Others just turn it around and say there are not enough homes. The fact is that if millions of cats are euthanised in America each year we have to conclude that there is a cat overpopulation problem and it is irrelevant how you interpret it. We have to work within the circumstances that we find ourselves.

P.H. Kass defines "cat overpopulation" as:

The existence of cats that are at risk of euthanasia because they are both unwanted and not owned.

As he says this includes the large number of cats at shelters.

Handsome feral cat. Image in public domain.

Vets Feral Cats and Numbers

Veterinarians in America are "frequently" presented with unwanted pets. They are sometimes asked to euthanise the companion animal. Some agree to do it and some don't (comment: I would have thought that killing a healthy cat - euthanasia is the wrong word - is a major breach of the veterinarian's oath and so I am shocked to hear that. It seems that the vet's oath has no meaning amongst a minority of vets or is it the majority as nearly all declaw cats in breach of the oath).

Many of the reasons for a breakdown in the human/cat relationship that can be overcome by cat owners working with veterinarians. This option is not taken up by the cat's owner and it seems that the vet does not always or even sometimes use his or her best efforts to sort things out.

Feral cats are a massive subject. Their beginnings are in abandoned domestic cats. They are ultimately part of the "disposable cat" mentality problem. The feral cat may have become part of the landscape and part of the US ecosystem. I don't know. They may serve a hidden purpose in keeping down rodents which is ironic as that is the original reason why the wild cat was first domesticated. Whatever we think, the feral cat also divides Americans. Some loathe them, others see vulnerable animals requiring help. The division in attitude is along the lines of disposability and respect for the cat mentioned above.

Comment: some kind people adopt colonies and feed, trap, neuter and return feral cats while others look on in disgust and want to criminalise this behavior and/or simply exterminate feral cats. There is a raging battle between bird conservationists and cats supporters. The feral cat and domestic cat are considered invasive species damaging native wildlife. They are in the internet news almost daily. Feral cat numbers are the single biggest news story regarding the cat after cat hoarding.

Whatever, they are part of the American cat overpopulation problem and millions join domestic cats to be killed at shelters. How many shelters are their? We don't know apparently. Some are privately owned making it difficult to work out total numbers. 

The Humane Society of the United States says that there are 1,800 while the American Humane Society says 3,000 to 5,000. Also records on numbers of cats at shelters are suspect even if it is obligatory to keep information (for local authority shelters) or it is not available to the public (for private shelters). Comment: I am told that shelters are reluctant to assist in providing information on any issue. I know this from personal experience in collecting data through this site about declawed cats at shelters. Personally, I am suspicious about shelters and the commercial aspect of shelters.

Are the figures from government shelters on "euthanasia" understated? They are certainly imprecise.

What are the figures at 2007? They vary widely. Comment: indicative of a lack of real concern by the authorities?

• 5.7 - 9.5 million cats euthanised at animal shelters in 1990 (source: Kahler 1996)
• 5 - 7 million cats (American Humane Association 1993)
• 4 million (American Humane Association as referred to by Patronek 1996)
• 3.18 million
• 3.62 million (Rowan 1992)

Sometimes someone wants real, hard figures! California gathered some hard data in 1992 from government shelters:

• 81% of the almost half a million cats at shelters were euthanised in 1992 (391,435/484,173 x 100).
• 73,935 were adopted or claimed by their owners.
• 4% of cats were unaccounted for.
• 12% of the American population of cats are in California. Extrapolating these figures to nationwide figures results in 3.6 million cats euthanised yearly.

Note: as some cats at shelters would have been euthanised for genuine reasons the numbers killed at shelters does not necessarily = the number of adoptable cats. Some were not adoptable for health and/or behavioral problems (comment: the assessment of behavioral problems is problematic to say the least. Cats at shelters are often stressed. How do you assess adoptability accurately under these conditions?). Anyway, what are the numbers in this respect?

The estimate is that 17% of cats euthanised at shelters are for genuine reasons and therefore this percentage should be deducted from the total figures above (source: Kass 2001). Apparently, people come into shelters to have their cat euthanised rather than go to the vet as it is cheaper (free in fact) and more convenient. The average age of these cats is ten.

Comment: Ten years of age is not old, although technically a cat is in old age at ten, so I am surprised at that figure. How do we know how many of these cats have terminal health problems that require euthanasia? How are they assessed? By shelter staff and the owner? I can see a lot of subjectivity taking place under these conditions. What I mean is the shelter staff will be happy to please the cat's owner and also be used to euthanising cats by the tens of thousands. Don't people become inured to death under those conditions? Personally, Kass's figure of 17% should be substantially reduced in my opinion. Also, it seems a little uncaring to me to walk into a shelter to have your cat euthanised.

There is a need for far better record keeping at shelters which should be made public. The records should accurately compile data on input/output, numbers euthanised, reasons for euthanasia, numbers of cats euthanised on request of owner etc. This would allow the effectiveness of local programs to reduce cat overpopulation to be assessed properly. Comment: Shelters are a vital source of information on cat populations and cat ownership trends.

Uncontrolled Cat Breeding

Some cats are not spayed or neutered. These cats breed sometimes. That is a major factor in the cat overpopulation problem.

But for the fact that more than 80% of domestic cats in the United States are sterilised the cat overpopulation problem would be a lot worse, obviously. The problem is that it is only about 80% of the cat population and not 100% because it is the remainder of cats who are not fixed that are sometimes allowed to breed. Although cat haters like to exaggerate the breeding rate of cats, both feral and domestic, they are good survivors and therefore good breeders.

One important issue is the age at which a kitten or cat is sterilised. Some cat caretakers believe that a female cat should "experience parturition" (give birth) before being sterilised. Some people believe it is good for the cat's health. Some vets say a cat is potentially healthier after the operation. Or the cat has a right to reproduce. A study revealed that about 20% of cats give birth to an average of 2.43 litters of an average of 4.3 cats before being spayed.

Comment: and as for male cats there is a discussion as to whether early neutering (before sexual maturity) affects the development of the male cat's characteristics making him more feminine in appearance.  In fact, some people equate declawing with neutering and spaying. If the former is bad so is the latter. Looking at the situation totally logically it is sad that we have to sterilise all the cats.

Another reason for not sterilising a cat is financial. However, many places offer discounts on the operation. Perhaps there is a need to extend discounted spay and neuter operations across the nation. There is an argument that says it should be obligatory.

Why People Relinquish Their Cats to Shelters

Why are cats given up to shelters? I don't think the scientific community can provide a complete answer to the question.

However there have been several studies. In one 50% of the owners who relinquished did not have plans to adopt a cat. Comment: most cats are given up when they are young indicating a lack of preparation, knowledge and proper expectations. The figures in this study (Miller and other in 1996) and others are as follows:



Without wishing to generalise and over simplify, the studies indicate that cat relinquishment is in part or substantially due to:

• inexperience
• ignorance
• incorrect expectations (my comment)
• poor education
• low income
• lack of role models on cat caretaking
• lack of access to veterinary care

An added complexity is the diversity of cultures of the American people (heterogeneity). People should seek help. Here are some resources:

• International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants
• The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB) 
• The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB)

Factors Affecting Adoptions

More work needs to be done in this area. One study (Lepper and others in 2002) indicated the following: Kittens under one year of age were:

• 4x more likely to be adopted than cats aged 1-2 years
• 5x more likely to be adopted than cats 3-5 years old
• 19x more likely to be adopted than cats over 5 years of age.

Also:

• Sterilised cats are preferred over unsterilised cats
• Spayed females are 4x more likely to be adopted than intact females
• Neutered males are 6x more likely to be adopted than intact males
• Neutered males are preferred over spayed females by a factor of 1.56x
• White cats are the favourite colour
• Next favorite was pointed and then grey cats
• Least favorite were black and brown cats (half as likely as tabby cats)
• Purebred cats were favored over random bred cats
• Cats described as being geriatric, ill and having behavioral problems reduced adoption success.
• Men who adopt are more likely to give up their cat than women within 6 months of adoption.
• More first time adopters gave up their cat subsequently than people who had previously cared for a cat.
• People rejecting their adopted cat were on average younger than people who retained their cat.

Ways to improve retention rates of adopted cats are:

• Provide information about cat care and training
• Ensuring person has correct expectations
• Ensuring better understanding of cat caretaking
• Ensure person is committed.

Picture of a giant cat in the middle of the road!

A nice bit of photo-editing from Matt McCarthy in North Carolina, USA. I should imagine that it was quite time consuming to do this photo-editing. You have to get the edges clean and that means a lot of meticulous deletions unless he uses software that does it all for him. But in my experience the best software is imperfect. I am probably wrong but this looks like three images sandwiched together: the background buildings, the cat and the foreground people. He has built up the image from the background creating three layers in all. 

Giant cat sleeps in the middle of the road. Image: Matt McCarthy.

You can see his work on Instagram: link.

The world's first cat breeders were Ancient Egyptians and they were ignorant

The ancient Egyptians may well have been the world's first cat breeders. Also, they may have bred by far the greatest number of cats at any time in the history of cat breeding.  They were world record holders when it comes to the domestic cat but in a very uncomfortable way.

This was not a nation that worshiped the cat in the way you do when you respect the cat as a sentient being; no, it was worshiping the cat as a deity and breeding millions of cats for ritualistic sacrifice. As I said this was a nation of cat abusers not cat lovers.

Bastet - Ancient Egyptian sculpture - Louvre museum

I think the word "worship" has been misused in relation to the cat in ancient Egypt. The worship of the god Bastet (a statue in the shape of a cat - the god of beauty) was not due to a respect for the real cat, the domestic cat as a useful companion animal. It was about using and abusing the domestic cat to try and please a god with the intention of improving the life of the worshiper. It was buying good luck. 

It just so happens the god was a cat in this instance and they devised a way to please the god: kill cats. By enlightened modern standards, it is all a completely fabricated load of nonsense at the expense of the vulnerable cat. Note: there are still millions of people who believe this sort of stuff in 2022. For instance, drinking tiger bone wine to improve health etc. is very similar in the underlying superstitions.

If there was a reverence for the domestic cat it was born out of a desire to please the god Bastet. Perhaps they believed they had to have reverence for the cat. That reverence did not translate into respect. These are two completely different concepts, obviously.

At the root of all good cat caretaking there is respect for the cat as a cat. To see the cat as an animal that can be breed in the millions for sacrifice to a god is not a demonstration of respect for the cat. It is the opposite.

Photo: AFP.

Clearly the mentality of the people in Egypt some 2,200 years ago and more will be different to modern people. We have to adjust for that. However, I say that we have to view animal abuse in an absolute sense regardless of the era and by the highest and most enlightened standards. 

This is because being cruel to animals and killing animals for the convenience of people is an absolute act. It is black and white. The cat is alive; the cat is dead. All creatures have a right to life. I don't believe that we can criticise the ancient Egyptians for killing cats for sacrifice but I do believe that we can say that it was cat abuse, full stop.

Ancient Egyptians worshiped Bastet for various reasons; the reasons changed over time indicating the fickle nature of the whole process. Latterly Bastet was a protector of motherhood and fertility. Bastet was a protector of pregnant women and children. Ironic then that the necks of kittens were ritually broken to seek favours from this god (votive offerings). 

Votive offerings are still made today (2012) and are offerings to supernatural forces or beings for favors in return. Personally, I see votive offerings of deliberately killed kittens as an expression of self-indulgent, misplaced beliefs resulting in cat cruelty. 

I know that is a tough judgement but where animal suffering is concerned, I feel I have the right to make tough judgements. It is horribly depressing to realise that similar things happen today. Think about eating a tiger penis to improve your sex life! True. Or killing the domestic cat in a certain brutal way and eating it to improve your health.

This abuse of the cat in ancient Egypt would not have happened if the cat had not been domesticated. It is probable that the god Bastet would not have been invented but for the domestication of the cat. It is argued that domestication of the cat gives power to the human that can lead to abuse of the subservient partner. The relationship between cat and human became potentially distorted.

A study extracting DNA from cat mummies in researching the origins of the domestic cat by Jennifer Kurushima and her colleagues indicate that the domestic cats of ancient Egypt are the forerunners of today's domestic cats. It confirms what we knew already.

Cats were bred in catteries and sold in their millions for sacrifice, Jennifer says. The thousands of mummified cats in tombs and catacombs usually had "ritually broken necks".

"Millions of mummies were offered and buried in areas throughout Egypt", she says. My personal opinion is that we need to adjust our view of the ancient Egyptian's relationship with the cat. Perhaps we think that because the Egyptians were the first to domesticate cats, they liked and respected the cat.

I think it was more to do with using the cat to their advantage both as a utility animal in reducing rodent populations etc. and, as mentioned, to improve fertility or beauty or whatever else they desired through votive offerings. A harsh assessment but probably more truthful that a lot of the regurgitated platitudes on the internet.

The Egyptian Mau is interesting too, being the first domesticated cat - domesticated it is said from the African wildcat. In 2012, the feral Egyptian Mau - you could argue the true and purest Egyptian Mau - is abused and persecuted on the streets of Cairo etc.. There is a charity (EMRO) that has been set up to help and protect them.

By the way, as an afterthought, the cats that were bred in their millions for sacrifice would have been Egyptian Maus; not the sort of refined purebred cat we see today but a cat that was in fact nearer the truer Egyptian Mau simply by the fact that it was nearer the wildcat. They were not breeding for appearance (selective breeding) but for numbers. They were kitten mills or factories.

Associated: My lovely Egyptian Mau in Egypt. Egyptian Mau Belly Flap.

Cats That Live in Trees

This is a list of cats that live in trees. I am referring to a group of wild cat species, of course. The first sentence should be qualified by saying that no cat species lives in trees all the time. There are wild cats that live in forests and spend time in trees and hunt in trees. These cats also live on the ground (terrestrial cats). All cats are good climbers. Some are better than others. Tree dwelling cats are the best climbers for obvious reasons. They are usually slender and have long tails for balance. The picture of the margay below illustrates this admirably.

These two wild cat species are the best climbers and most associated with tree dwelling:

1. Margay
2. Clouded leopard

Margay resting in a tree, typical behavior - Photo copyright Adriane Taylor
See more of Adriane's work

Other wild cat species that spend time in trees are:

• Ocelet - hunt on the ground, rest in trees and escape to trees
• Leopard cat - likes forest cover and can be "quite arboreal in their habits"¹
• African golden cat  - thought to be arboreal but short tail and stocky body indicates otherwise. More needs to be known about this cat.
• Marbled cat - more arboreal than the average wild cat species.
• Leopard - we have all seen leopards taking prey into trees and resting in trees.

All but one lives in Asia, where logging is destroying their habitat. See cats that like water.

Note: "Arboreal" means: living in trees. (1) Wild Cats of the World.

Margay

This is probably the best feline tree dweller. They tend to prey on other animals living in trees and terrestrial animals. They often feed on birds, rodents, insects and fruit. Yes, fruit. Most of the prey of the margay are nocturnal and arboreal. However, they also hunt on the ground feeding on mice, rabbits and young pacas and agoutis for example.

Cat Hell Dog Nightmare Human Norm

WARNING: this is about dog and cat meat and the brutality of the business. It's just horrendous. The pictures are from a horror movie only it's real this time. And for the perpetrators it is all normal but got the cats and dogs it is a living hell until they are mercifully killed. You have to click links to see the pics as they are too horrible to have on this page. 

The brutal and ignorant behavior by the humans (sub-humans) who kill cats and dogs for meat reminds me of Putin's behavior in his manic desire to invade Ukraine and the subsequent death, destruction and rape perpetrated by his troops. There is not much difference in attitude which is why Russia is matey with China and vice versa.

It is tough to face up to humankind's weaknesses. People in one country don't like people in another country criticising them. They say "you don't understand our culture" and "what right have you got to criticise". That sort of thing. At its root, this article is not about a country's culture. It is about obvious animal cruelty of the most heinous kind. It is about base human behavior dressed up as part of an area's culture. All of us have a right to criticise that wherever we are. Despite that I will be ostracized by someone, somewhere.

This website never shirks from spelling out the truth. A lot of people don't like that. Humankind is very good at self-denial and finding ways of covering up the truth. Millions of examples take place every day. The current classics in the cat world are:

1. The mass slaughter of unwanted cats at "shelters" while we have fancy cat shows showing gorgeous, purebred cats bred for the purpose. You cannot justify having the latter while the former takes place.
2. Declawing of cats. A modern aberration and horribly distorted human behavior that one day will look ridiculous - hopefully.

To the above two I'd like to add something that is worse than both but which takes place at the opposite side of the world, in Asia. There are some horror pictures below the text. This is as bad as animal cruelty gets. See also cat meat name and shame.

Warning: Don't read on if, like me, you become upset at gross animal abuse. But please spread the word to try and stop this.

I received an email from Ольга Брундасова. I have published the contents verbatim. I believe that is what she wants me to do. I expect that you will find these words on other websites. They need to be.

PETITIONS

Update: these petitions are closed now as this post was written many years ago but it has been updated (see below in yellow highlighter).

• www.thepetitionsite.com/1/meat-trade--dogs-cats/  
• www.thepetitionsite.com/368/stop-animal-abuse-china/  
• https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2169  
• http://www.ptroa.co.il/petition/  
• www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/395/884/823/

The $2 billion dollar-a-year South Korean dog and cat meat industry, which extinguishes the lives of approximately two and a half million dogs a year for meat or gaesoju, a dog wine or broth, and thousands of despised and doomed cats for so-called “health” tonics or goyangyeesoju, and soup, operates in a sordid and illicit world where farmers and butchers kill with frightening impunity in the most abominable fashion. Dogs are killed with high-voltage electronic rods (which does not kill immediately), hanging, or even beating the dog to death at the request of customers who believe that the meat is more tender and tastier the greater the dog suffers (one of the most pernicious of myths) and that the medicinal properties are enhanced. 

They are most often killed within sight of their cage mates. They are then thrown into a tub of boiling water, often still alive, and then into a rotating drum for the removal of their fur, and finally blowtorched. At Moran Market, South Korea’s largest open air-market for dog meat, dog carcasses are on display next to the cages of live dogs. Cats are thrown into boiling water while alive. At the farms, dogs are fed germ-infested, rotting, and fermented human leftovers, a health risk to both the dogs and those who eat them. In South Korea, dogs and cats’ lives are short and ferociously heartless until they tremble no more at the hands of their slaughterers as cage mates look on.

Legitimacy of dog meat in Korea

Dogs are defined as “livestock” according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAF). The purpose of keeping them as livestock--for breeding, killing, or whatever--is irrelevant to the law.

However, dogs are not defined as “livestock” under the Livestock Processing Law. That is, they are not listed as livestock that can be officially processed as food. Therefore, it can be inferred it is illegal to process dogs for food, but there is no law expressly forbidding it.

It might be argued that since Korean laws are usually strict in listing what is allowed or prohibited, and since dogs are not listed as animals that can be processed as food, then it is illegal to produce dog meat.

The current Animal Protection Law does not ban the slaughter of dogs for meat, nor does it protect dogs on dog farms from abuse. It only applies to dogs kept in a house.

Tens of millions of animals are slaughtered and butchered in China each year. Animal fur is in high demand, and the Chinese deliver. What does not get exported outside of China usually ends up on a dinner plate. The sad fact is that the animals suffer horrendous torture. They are captured on the streets, and packed by the dozens into small cages, without ability to move. 

They are then tossed like inanimate objects from the trucks, onto the ground, hitting each other and the steel cages. These cages are later stacked, and the real nightmare begins. The animal is brutally pulled out of the cage, and tied to prevent resistance. It is lightly stunned by a blow on the head, but still alive. If the animal is not heavy, the worker holds it by its hind legs, waves it in the air and then bashes its head against the ground. Once the animal is subdued, a new and incomprehensible stage in this ongoing nightmare begins. 

The worker cuts a tiny incision in the animal's rear, and then methodically peels away the skin. This skinning process takes about a minute, during which the worker actively keeps the animal alive, as it is believed that it is easier to skin the animal while it is still warm and blood flows through its veins. The nightmare does not end here. 

The final stage in this unbelievable horror is when the animal is tossed aside, and slowly, amidst a heap of its dying friends, it perishes as it is no longer able to withstand the pain. In other cases, when the animal's fur is not needed (mostly with cats), the animals are put in a sack, and are then cooked alive in a barrel of boiling water.

Back in the day, there was a series of photographs below this text. But the policies regarding the kind of pictures you can put on websites has changed over the years. Nowadays, advertisers don't want their adverts to be in any way associated with pictures which are difficult to view. Accordingly, below, you will see a series of links to these photographs. You remain on this page and will be able to view the pictures on another page where there are no adverts. Sorry for the inconvenience.

These are all brutal photos. Horrible. A complete breakdown in morality. It's ignorance and cruelty.

Image 1 - dog being beaten to death
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