Just how quickly can one unfixed cat turn into a giant colony of cats and kittens?
This infographic below is a great visual example of just how fast a population of cats can grow when they have not been spayed or neutered!
Cats only stay pregnant for about 2 months and the typical litter size is 4 kittens. Within 4 short months, those kittens can already go into heat and start having offspring of their own. In a little over a year and a half, what started as one unfixed cat, can turn into a huge colony of over 32 cats and kittens!
A very sad fact is that 75% of these kittens born outdoors do not make it past 6 months old. Many of them become sick from diseases that are very treatable, but without supportive care and being exposed to the harsh outdoor elements, they often perish.
This is why when we see community cats in our neighborhood, behind our favorite grocery store, or local restaurant, it is important to act quickly & help be part of the solution: TNR (trap, neuter, return)! If you are feeding outdoor cats, one of the kindest things you can do for them is to help get them fixed before the population gets out of control!
This is where Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue comes in to help! Our mission is to rescue and rehabilitate injured or orphaned kittens born outdoors. But our work doesn’t stop there! We are also committed to growing our Full-Circle TNR program.
This program is designed to help end the cycles of kittens being born outside. If we have pulled a kitten from an outdoor colony, our TNR team will return to that location to get all the remaining cats who live there fixed and vaccinated! Our number one goal is to reduce the number of sick, injured, and orphaned kittens coming into shelters or being born outdoors.
If you want to joining our growing TNR team, apply to become one of our volunteers.
To help support Miss Dixie’s TNR efforts in your community, please consider becoming a monthly donor! Even $5 will go towards the cost of spaying/neutering and vaccinating our community cats.