NO MORE FREE KITTENS
***You should never offer to give kittens or cats away for free or take free kittens***
Giving cats and kittens away for free is a bad idea for many reasons:
Giving cats and kittens away for free is a bad idea for many reasons:
- Free implies worthless. It devalues the animal.
- When NO money is involved, people tend to make snap decisions. Cats that are taken home on impulse are very often no longer wanted once the novelty wears off and they are cast out. This only leads to more breeding cats in need of homes.
- There are unscrupulous people who seek out free kittens for a variety of reasons – to be sold to animal testing labs, used for snake food, or used as dog fighting bait. We have recently heard about two day old kittens being hooked and used as musky fishing bait. These people are good at fooling others, and pretend to be bringing the cat or kitten into a loving home.
- When animals are given away, there is a very strong likelihood that they have not seen a vet. They have not had a proper start on life, and you are often getting a sickly kitten. Kittens need de-worming or flea treatments, vaccinations, tests for diseases like Feline Leukemia and FIV, and they most certainly aren’t spayed or neutered – which can be done at 8 weeks of age. When you take a free kitten, you get what you pay for – you get a sickly cat that didn’t get a proper start in life – vet attention, proper nutrition, or adequate weaning.
- Once all the free kittens are gone, the mother cat is left to reproduce another litter. Why get her fixed? After all, the kittens go like hot cakes! When you take a free kitten, you are supporting this cycle.
- Pet stores are happy to take a batch of free kittens off the hands of the public. Big corporate stores get the picture and understand that RESCUE work is necessary and do not engage in this practice. But smaller independent pet stores take kittens off the hands of folks and make a tidy sum selling the UNfixed kittens to anyone with money. This undermines the work of rescue organizations. RESCUE organizations put people through strict adoption interviews and have signed contracts that ensure the proper care of the animal for it’s entire life. Pet stores that sell animals DO NOT DO THIS. We need to stop patronizing pet stores that sell animals for profit.
- Some pet supply stores that help RESCUES include Petco, Petsmart, Pet Supplies Plus and ChowHound. Know who you are buying from before you spend money in stores that profit from FREE KITTENS and animals bred for production of income!
- You can make a difference. When you see FREE KITTENS signs on the road, stop and give the owners the number to Carol’s Ferals (616-560-0555). Keep this flier handy in your car and share it. Knowledge is power. Pass it on. Save lives. Help bring about a day where there are no FREE KITTENS signs.
