Catriona MacLennan: Million kittens face misery and death

If you care about animals, don't give them as Christmas presents.

Animals are not toys, gifts or accessories. They are living beings that require food, water, shelter, veterinary care, exercise and love every day of their lives.

Cute little kittens will be playful babies for only a short time.

For the rest of their lives they will be adult cats - but they will still require just as much care and attention.

Humans who find cats less appealing than kittens are, unfortunately, often reluctant - or too lazy - to provide that care.

Cats live an average of 12 to 14 years, but some live up to 20.

Auckland is now in the middle of kitten season. The SPCA is receiving a stream of unwanted kittens, and that will continue for several months.

It adopts around 100 kittens each weekend at the height of the season. It will receive 5000 kittens this summer.

Sadly, there are not nearly enough homes for the all kittens born. Many are doomed to short, unhappy lives and will be put down before ever having the chance to experience the world.

The Lonely Miaow Association rescues abandoned and stray cats around Auckland and finds homes for them. Chairman Peter Dormon calculates that there are 30,000 colonies of stray cats between Orewa and Bombay, comprising 500,000 cats.

About a million kittens will be born each summer. Most of them, however, quickly die of starvation and disease.

The association rescues as many cats and kittens as it can, but it is a voluntary organisation with very limited resources and the scale of the problem is huge.

As kitten season started this spring, Mr Dormon and his partner had nine kittens in their bathroom being fed and cared for while awaiting homes.

Last year Lonely Miaow rescued 205 cats and kittens, finding homes for 127 but euthanasing the ones for which a home could not be found.

That figure was down from the figures of 500 to 600 in earlier years, as the association now focuses on ensuring the animals it takes into care will find homes.

Another factor exacerbating the problem is foreign students buying animals and then abandoning them when they leave New Zealand, or realising the expense and work involved in caring properly for animals.

Many of these animals have behavioural problems after being confined to tiny flats and left alone for long periods.

About 30 per cent of animals surrendered at the village in the past two years have been brought there by foreign students.

Numbers soar at this time of year as students head home after exams.

Only about half of these kittens and puppies will find new homes. The rest will be put down.

Auckland's aim should be to ensure that all kittens born here have good homes, and that they have the chance to grow up properly cared for and experiencing all the world has to offer.

The most important step towards that goal is for families to have their kittens desexed.

The SPCA calculates that one unspeyed female cat can be responsible for the births of up to 131,072 kittens.

It is irresponsible and cruel to let cats have kittens without any thought about the future of those animals.

Auckland already has far too many kittens. Bringing more kittens into the world is simply condemning them to short, miserable lives.

Some parents let their cats have kittens so that children in the family can experience the miracle of birth. Unfortunately, those parents are teaching their children when the resulting kittens are given away or abandoned, that life is cheap.

They are also ignoring the emotional trauma, both to the mother cat and to the kittens, of being separated from one another.

Animals - just like humans - have emotions, and kittens suddenly parted from their mother will experience fear, loneliness and anxiety.

People who cannot make a long-term commitment of up to 20 years to their animals should not take them into their homes.

If you are thinking about getting an animal, first think about where you yourself intend to be in 20 years. Will you still be in Auckland or, indeed, in New Zealand?

If you have no certainty about your plans, don't get the animal.

Animals which have bonded with humans experience severe trauma when separated from the human they are accustomed to and from their familiar environment.

If you expect to make repeated moves, don't get the kitten.

If you are not prepared to empty litter trays, provide a balanced diet, set up a scratching post, give worm and flea treatments, and check your cat's teeth and fur to make sure they are healthy, watch a programme about animals instead.

Most cats do not like change. They attach themselves to a physical environment and that is where they will feel happy and secure.

That is why people should not give animals to others as presents.

If you find it difficult to predict your life in 20 years, how can you possibly anticipate what someone else will be doing that far ahead and whether they will still be able to care for an animal?

Kittens are kittens for only a short time. For the rest of their long and, hopefully, happy lives they will be adult cats.

If an adult cat is not what you want, don't get the kitten.

* Catriona MacLennan is a South Auckland barrister.