Dear Future President,

Have you ever seen a stray cat and wondered where it lives? Where it gets food? Well if you have, you may want to read the following, for which it has some answers to why you may see so many of these stray cats. Many cats die every day because they are strays or because they are put down due to not being adopted in the shelter.

Stray cats are very common all around the world because they are not spayed/neutered which leads to more and more cats. Not only are stray cats very common, but there is also another type called “feral cats” A feral cat is the offspring of stray or other feral cats and are very fearful of humans. Cats become feral if they grow up not having contact with people. Even though these cats are very afraid of humans, that doesn't mean they aren’t hungry or cold so there are still many things people can do to help them. Cats can have kittens as soon as the age of 5 months, and because stray/feral cats are usually not neutered/spayed, kittens are very common and they also follow in their parents footsteps and continue to be homeless. 

Cats are very popular pets and very common in shelters, but there are also cat breeders which is ridiculous due to the fact that you can rescue a cat from the shelter that is actually in need of a home. Older cats are usually the ones that live in shelters the longest. Most people go for the kittens or young cats. There is an estimated 6-8 million homeless animals entering animal shelters every year. Because of this shelters run out of room. The cats who have been in the shelter for a long time will then be put down to make room for other animals. 

Other people may argue that people should not spay/neuter stray cats because then shelters will not have enough cats for people to adopt. Cats will still be common even if the strays are neutered/spayed. Lots of people breed their cats, and even though it's not a very good thing to do right now because there are so many cats in the shelters, if you really wanted a kitten you could get one from a breeder.

So what can people do to help? There are many ways to help! A very simple one being, leaving some cat food by a neighborhood you know there are many strays, or volunteering at the shelter. Another thing people can do to help this issue is to donate to funds that pay for stray/feral to get neutered/spayed, or better yet start your own fund page for it! It is just important that the word gets out that this issue is going on and breeding cats is not a good idea, and if anyone is thinking about adopting a cat/kitten, adopt from the shelter! All in all, there are many ways you dramatically help without doing much.

Sincerely, 

Dorine Razeghi

"Outdoor Cats: Frequently Asked Questions." The Humane Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2016

(Outdoor Cats: Frequently Asked Questions)