Another Reason for Cat Control

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Last week I awoke one morning after having put all three cats out the night before, only to find all three cats in. Now, I had NOT left my window open, nor had I any kitty door to give them access. Upon further investigation, I found that between my cats and whatever stray/feral cats utilized the underbelly of my trailer, they had torn my heating ducts apart with their claws and were now able to climb into the actual ducts and up into my trailer through the loose heating vent in my daughter's room. As a temporary fix, we have stacked heavy books upon the vent. This will keep the cats from using it as a door but there is another problem this has caused, as well. Up until now we have been heating our home with our woodstove. Yesterday we ran out of wood so we had to switch to the furnace. The problem with having a hole in your heating ducts is that the hot air gets blown under the trailer rather than into the inside where you need it. So not only was I not getting enough heat in the house, I was wasting electricity, as well, as the furnace had to keep kicking on to heat up the air it was blowing. Now, my story does not have all gloom and doom. There is a bright spot in the dark. I do have homeowners' insurance that will cover the repairs. Of course, I do have a $250 deductible and it is the weekend so the adjuster won't be here until next week sometime, and then I have to find someone to do the repairs but in the meantime my friends have come and brought me some wood to last a few days, at any rate. My point in this entire story is that animals can do real damage to property, which is a very good reason to keep their populations under control. Had the feral Pooky not roosted under my trailer and had her litter under there, inevitably dying with them under there, my own cats would never have found the area so fascinating and built upon the damage she had already done to tear a clear pathway into my home from under it. Please, wherever you are, support spaying/neutering of cats...including the feral cats. Spay/neuter your cats and be responsible when you move! I am horrified when I hear stories of cats abandoned when their owners moved. If you don't have a shelter near you, find homes for your cats or even foster homes. If all else fails, the least you can do is have them put down rather than leave them on their own. The damage feral cats do is unreal and cats are NOT wild with natural wild cat instincts. They lack the natural fear of Man that wild animals have and they will attach themselves to communities and neighborhoods and find the warmest areas to winter that they can, even if they have to destroy your insulation to do so. Dumping cats is a crime in many places and should be a crime in all places. Cats need loving homes in order to have happy lives and if you are not willing to commit to caring for your cat until it dies a natural death, don't get one! Irresponsible pet owners deserve to be penalized and censured severely as far as I'm concerned! PLEASE! Be a responsible pet owner!