Turning off the tap

On any given day there are at least three hundred cats and kittens listed on rescue and society websites and petfinder pages. Sadly that is only the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds more are listed on bulletin boards and free online ad sites. Still more kitties are struggling to survive after being dumped in a remote enough spot for the culprit to make a clean getaway.
There's been a lot of debate lately about whether rescues and the society should be accepting owner surrenders. Yet would that solve the problem? Not even close.
Simply accepting owner surrenders is a bit like mopping the water off the floor when the bathtub flows over. Cleaning up the water isn't going to do any good until someone turns the tap off.
If accepting owner surrenders isn't going to work, and not accepting them clearly isn't working .... well then perhaps its time to try some new tricks with the old:

• how about groups and the society providing a 'stay at home' petfinder listing service for all pet owners who agree to participate in a low cost spay neuter program.
• provide no questions asked early age spay/neuter clinics for kittens.
• offer munical microchip clinics for cats - its not safe to have a collar and a tag on cats and a municipal listing of kitty microchip numbers could allow AC to give the kitties a 'free ride home' too ( see note below)
• providing low cost temporary boarding/foster for pets whose people are going through times of crisis
• offering an information program for landlords and tenants about renting options for people with pets
• providing low cost spay neuter/vaccines/testing for people who find strays as well as guidance on introducing new pets to the existing ones
• And yes... it goes without saying that strong support for any TNR activity, whether engaged in by groups or individuals, will be a critical cornerstone.

Somewhere along the line too, while we are teaching young girls about strength and confidence in themselves, we should be teaching them that it is never a healthy thing when a new partner will insist on them giving up their dearly beloved pet. In many instances that should be a warning sign of other ways the partner will attempt to manipulate and dominate. That however is a separate rant for another day as it is sadly nothing any rescue or even the society can do anything about.

Note: I read about the 'free ride home' concept for dogs in the recently declassified report, http://www.nshomelesspets.com/2008_04_24_10_17_51.pdf. In a nutshell, it suggests free lifetime municipal dog licenses for dogs that are microchipped and spayed or neutered. When these animals are picked up by AC, they get a free ride home instead of to the shelter. I love this concept because it promotes pet retention and population control by rewarding pet owners for 'good' behavior. After all, every pet that goes home is one less pet needing to be rescued.