Homeless
Chapter Five
The recovery room serves several purposes. Animals just out of surgery are monitored there. Cages along the far wall house patients too sick to go home. Dr. Mac digs through a cupboard, pulls out a sign reading “DANGEROUS ANIMAL. STAY AWAY!” and hangs it on Tiger’s cage.
Tiger blinks his green eyes at Sunita and meows sadly. Dr. Mac assures her he’ll be fine after a couple days of rest. Sunita asks what will happen to Socrates and the other cats. The woman warns that Animal Control will take them away, which means they’ll be put to sleep.
Dr. Mac hates seeing animals put down for no good reason. Sunita wonders if they could set up an adoption program, like they did for the puppies a month ago. Dr. Mac sits down and, after a long silence, admits the woman has a point. The colony will keep growing unless something changes. A pair of breeding cats can produce five or six kittens a year. Those kittens can start breeding by seven months old, meaning one pair could produce eighty kittens within a year. Stray and feral cats live short, harsh lives, and the problem is massive. An article Dr. Mac read estimated sixty million feral cats in the U.S., roughly equal to the pet cat population. That number keeps growing every day.
Sunita means well, but she isn’t seeing the whole picture. A few strays are used to people, but most are feral, and a feral cat can’t become a house cat. Her heart races. Without quick action, they won’t be able to save any of the cats. If they don’t find Socrates, he could be put to sleep with the others.
Dr. Mac suggests another option. Some communities have tried a program called TVSR, which stands for treat, vaccinate, spay, and release. Cats from a colony are trapped, brought to a clinic, sedated, and checked for disease or injury, then vaccinated, spayed, or neutered. Once recovered, they’re released with a notched ear marking them as treated. They can’t reproduce or spread disease, and they get to live out their short lives in peace. It might be worth trying.
Dr. Mac stands and says she’ll visit the colony in the morning. She’ll ask the Animal Control officers about starting a TVSR program and look for Socrates while she’s there.