If You Feed Them, They’re Your Cats

Every day, people see outdoor cats struggling to survive. They put out food, fresh water, and sometimes even a warm place to sleep. They may tell themselves, “They aren’t my cats. I’m just feeding them.”

But when you feed the same cats day after day, watch them grow, watch them have litter after litter of kittens, and continue providing for them, something important has happened: you have become their caregiver.

That doesn’t mean you have to bring every outdoor cat into your house or personally solve the community cat problem. It does mean that if you choose to provide ongoing care, you also have a responsibility to help prevent the cycle of endless breeding, illness, injury, and suffering.

One female cat can have multiple litters in a year. Those kittens grow up and reproduce themselves. Before long, four cats can become twelve. Twelve can become twenty. Twenty can become thirty or more. Suddenly, the person who started by putting out a bowl of food is overwhelmed by a growing herd of cats—some sick, some injured, and some pregnant—and calls the PAWS shelter saying, “These aren’t my cats. I’m just feeding them.”

By then, the problem is far more difficult to manage and that’s typically when people call the PAWS Shelter, which is consistently strained to meet operational funding.

We understand that many people begin feeding outdoor cats because they care. They don't want to see an animal hungry or cold. That compassion is valuable. But feeding without addressing reproduction is only treating one part of the problem. Food keeps cats alive; spay/neuter keeps the population from exploding. Vaccinations help protect the cats and the community.

If you are regularly feeding outdoor cats, please don’t wait until you have four, twelve, twenty, or thirty cats before asking for help. Bring them to us early or contact PAWS for help with spay and neuter services.

If you see an unaltered cat coming around your property, that's the time to act. If a pregnant female appears, that's the time to reach out. If kittens are born, don't wait for them to grow up and start having kittens of their own.

The sooner cats are brought in for spay/neuter and vaccinations, the easier it is to break the cycle.

We aren't saying this to discourage kindness. We are saying it because kindness needs to be paired with responsibility.

Help us help you—and, most importantly, help the cats.