Lakeland Animal Shelter

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"It's only one."

With millions of animals out there, one unaltered one doesn't make a difference... And anyway, kittens (or puppies) are easy to find homes for." "As long as I find homes for the babies, my animal is not part of the problem."

Spoken or unspoken, these are some of the most common misconceptions that shelters and rescue groups work to conquer on a daily basis. Scroll down to see pictures of the results of one unspayed cat who came through out doors.

Rebecca's Story

In early 2006, a gentleman in Walworth County passed away. Neighbors had seen several cats, including Rebecca, on his property while he was alive, and Rebecca is believed to have been one of his cats. In the months following his death, with her caretaker gone, Rebecca appeared more frequently. The neighbors began feeding her, and a few months later, in the fall of 2006, Rebecca was spotted with a litter of kittens. The people tried to set up a warm and safe place for Rebecca and her babies and continued to feed them through the winter and spring. Rebecca and her kittens stayed around, until in spring of 2007, when the people noticed that all three of Rebecca's girls--they had unofficially named them Tigger, Cinnamon, and Kit-Kat--appeared to be pregnant. When they left for a vacation, they expected that the three cats would give birth soon. As they expected, when they returned from vacation, all three cats had given birth. All of the kittens are believed to have been born between May 7th and 9th. At this point, we were not aware of Rebecca or her kittens.

Shortly after their return, we were contacted for assistance. The property was to be sold, and our assistance was needed to remove the cats from the property. The cats had access to the inside of a building, and the mom cats kept the kittens in the building also. The had formed their own colony--a cooperative relationship among the mothers in which they all shared the responsibilities, even caring for each other's cats at times. Though Rebecca was friendly, she had by this time become used to living with little human contact, and her kittens, now almost a year old, had very little interaction with humans, so they did not trust people enough to be easily caught. Over Memorial Day weekend of this year, with the assistance of the neighbors, we began to live-trap the cats. Kit-Kat and her five kittens were caught first. Though only a few weeks old, Kit-Kat's kittens were already showing their lack of socialization, hissing and spitting at the people who were trying to help them. Kit-Kat herself was so terrified that we doubted she would continue to take care of her kittens in the shelter. Another mom cat, Edna, whose litter had just been weaned was pulled to help out the kittens. Edna took to these kittens immediately and began to nurse them and keep them clean.

Tigger's and Cinnamon's kittens were together in the building, where the mommas, who were stressed by the activity of the people and the live trapping, were moving them around so regularly they couldn't be found. But late on Saturday, the neighbors located the kittens. Unfortunately one had died, but the other 8 appeared to be doing well. Like Kit-Kat's kittens, these 8 were largely unsocialized. The neighbors decided they needed to take these kittens, with or without the mommas, before they were moved again and couldn't be found. Just as they were preparing to bring the kittens to us, Tigger was captured, and she was brought to us along with the 8 kittens. Though terrified, Tigger's maternal instincts remained strong, so she was kept with the 8 kittens while we attempted to trap Cinnamon.

On Sunday, Rebecca was caught and brought in to the shelter. The neighbors who were helping with the trapping were unaware that Rebecca was pregnant, but it was clear that she would be delivering quite soon, and the following day (Memorial Day), Rebecca gave birth to 4 more kittens at the shelter. Shortly after Rebecca's capture, Cinnamon was caught, but she was too scared and her milk production had dropped after being away from the kittens, so she was not placed back with her kittens. Tigger, who was still very scared and stressed, was placed back with Rebecca where she could be more comfortable, and the two moms jointly cared for their 12 combined kittens.

In less than a year and a half, one unspayed female, Rebecca, resulted in 20 offspring. If the cycle hadn't been stopped now, in just a few more months, that number would have grown even further, and by next fall, with the addition of next year's litters, including those born to this year's female kittens, the number of cats in this group would have risen to over 100 and continued to grow. Even if homes had been found for the kittens, if their new owners had not altered them, they would continue to multiply.

What happened next?

Rebecca. Tigger, and their kittens were transferred to a foster home with the capacity to handle them all. Tigger gradually became less fearful, but learning to trust people is a very slow process, and it will likely be a year or more before she trusts completely. Though Tigger also helped care for the kittens, Rebecca, who was already well socialized, took on the primary mothering role, and the kittens, who were young enough to be quickly socialized, soon became more trusting. When the majority of Tigger and Rebecca's kittens had been adopted, Rebecca and the remaining kittens returned to the shelter so that their foster people could help more kittens in need. Tigger remained in her foster home for additional socialization. Shortly after Rebecca returned to the shelter, she became a surrogate mom to some new kittens in need. The foster home continued to work with Tigger, but she took the loss of her mom very poorly and became depressed. After several weeks, Tigger was returned to the shelter, where she was placed in the cage with Rebecca and the new babies. Tigger instantly perked up, and when Rebecca and the foster babies were moved into another foster home, Tigger went along with the group and helped Rebecca to keep the kittens clean and comfortable. As of November 2007, Rebecca and Tigger are still in foster care, but will soon return to the shelter. The bond between Tigger and her mom is so strong that we will be seeking a home where they can remain together.

Because we did not have any more foster home space available, Edna and Kit-Kat's kittens remained at the shelter. They were treated for coccidia, a common parasite that Edna was carrying. After several weeks of treatment and socialization, the kittens were ready to go home, and one by one they were placed in homes.

Cinnamon and Kit-Kat were spayed and moved together into our adoptable cat room. They gradually improved in socialization, but eventually reached a plateau. They were moved into our adoptable cat colony where they could have more face-to-face interaction with people, and where they could run and play. As of November 2007, both Cinnamon and Kit-Kat are still at the shelter waiting for that special someone to come along.

Rebecca's Family Photos

Rebecca's 2007 kittens