Butte Spay/Neuter Task Force calls on owners to take responsibility for pets

BUTTE — In a tiny clinic at the edge of town, a group of Butte people say they are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to getting people to spay and neuter their pets.

"We have one cat in there, she is four years old, she’s had four litters already and is pregnant with her fifth. At an average of six cats a litter—and that’s very conservative—she has now negated everything that we have done today," said Alyssa Hight with the Butte Spay and Neuter Task Force.

Alyssa says the cat’s pregnancy was terminated and she was successfully spayed. And the eight workers and volunteers, including a local veterinarian, spayed and neutered about 30 other cats during the July 31 clinic.

But, the crew still feels they are fighting a losing battle and the experience with the female cat really illustrates the need for pet owners to take responsibility for their animals, says Hight.

"Everybody loves a good kitten and puppy. Everybody thinks that their cat or dog should have at least one litter. It’s just not the truth," says Hight.

Cats can have approximately six litters a year, and, if you go by Hight’s conservative estimate of six kittens per litter, one cat can produce about 36 kittens per year. And that is not only dangerous for a cat’s health; it’s also dangerous for an ecosystem.

"Even six litters, 60-plus kittens, they decimate ecosystems. That’s why we are doing this. They reproduce so quickly and it takes little to no time at all," says Hight.

And Alyssa says one unfixed male and one unfixed female will leave you with an out-of-control cat population within one year.

"If people don’t start spaying and neutering and really seriously start taking responsibility for not only their actions but the actions of their family members, of their children, of their friends—it’s really got to be a group effort as a community," says Hight.

Organizers say that aside from being responsible pet owners, people can also help out by making donations to the Butte Spay/Neuter Task Force.