Beach cats is what I call them. My apologies, beach cat
racers and hobie cat enthusiasts if by this title your search led you to this
site - 'cause I'm not talking about sailing, racing or recreation. I'm talking
about real cats of the fur and purr variety that seem to be populating the
beaches of this country. There happens to be a growing number of cats I see
roaming the beaches. I may not know if they are abandoned, stray or simply out
on a walk, but I'm pretty sure there isn't any population control program for
their kind. Not where the mass of human beings themselves are wanting in such
service.
I'm just a bit uneasy at the thought that a female cat can
produce 30 kittens in a year. And how many kittens can a tomcat sire wandering
about and mating with any pussycat, and as many. Think how that number of cats
can procreate and multiply. If left unabated, you can imagine how they can
continue to reproduce themselves in exponential fashion.
As it is, cat conditions are already harsh if unsheltered and
free-roaming. Most of them have made the beaches their home and go about freely
scavenging for leftovers from trash and picnic tables. More so if with their
growing numbers, they have to fight ferociously in their forage of our beaches.
Scrawny and sick cats will be unbecoming of our vaunted beaches.
There is a known humane and effective way to keep the stray cat
population in check and it is to spay or castrate rather than to catch and
kill. But this method seems to be a first world thing for now and I seriously
doubt if there is any such program hereabout. It is not a bad idea though to
adopt if we want our beaches to remain a healthy place where beachgoers and
beach cats can co-exist.
