(Rewrite) Playing Devil's Advocate: On Stray Cats

 The Assignment: Play the Devil’s advocate in your chosen niche. Find a provocative stance or an unexpected thesis by writing about and exploring a contentious or confusing issue and then make your argument. Try picking an argument you normally feel strongly about and take the other side.

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You hear them at night: feral and stray cats calling to their mates or brawling in the alley ways. They are a huge nuisance in the United States, especially in cities. Wherever there is a steady food source, the cats will survive: near homes, near restaurants, and anywhere with a population of rodents or birds.

Cats procreate rapidly, quickly infesting the neighborhood. They carry germs, parasites, and diseases which can be passed on to humans. Unfortunately, they are a danger to public health, so responsible persons should act quickly to eradicate the problem.

With a steady food supply, cats multiply quickly. The gestational period for a feline is two months, and she usually has three to six kittens in each litter. A female cat can become pregnant immediately after giving birth. She will often have several litters per year.

Her kittens become sexually mature at five to six months of age. Then they procreate. The cycle continues. Before long, there are hundreds of inbred cats infesting the neighborhood.

Aside from the noise, these cats—who are essentially wild animals due to lack of human socialization—carry disease. They are magnets for fleas and mites, and can spread parasites, such as giardia, to humans.

Although many groups advocate trap, neuter, and release programs, these programs do not remove the problem. It is true that a population of neutered cats will not grow as rapidly as an intact population, but they still infest the same areas. They are still a major problem for the residents and businesspersons who must share their space with these cats.

For this reason, it sometimes becomes necessary to humanely euthanize an entire population of cats. Once the colony has been eradicated, it’s important to remove all food sources. If residents and businesses continue to leave unsecured dumpsters or provide seed to local birds, another stray colony will move in to the same location.

Once the cats and food sources are removed from a particular area, it is unlikely that a new colony will move in.