BIG RANT and elf gifts

Very happy with how the gifts were received last night.
Almost everyone came up and said thank you, which was really lovely.
I learned something last night... all the worry meant NOTHING, because when I realised that a few people didn't come up and say thanks, I didn't bother worrying myself as to whether or not they liked their gift, I just thought well if they didn't like it then they should've volunteered to be an elf :)

Now my rant...

This morning I was at the RSPCA vet clinic to buy some Advantage for our beautiful cats, and some people walked in with a box, a cute little kitten was poking it's head out.
The first thought in my head was "get out you don't want to hear this"
I wasn't quick enough to get out the door, and I heard the man say

"We just found this box of kittens in the carpark"

My heart sunk, it infuriates me when people are irresponsible with animals.
This is how we ended up with Loki. Because people get animals and can't be bothered having them desexed.
Loki's mum wasn't desexed and she was allowed to wander outside and so was Loki's dad (Loki's dad was later mauled by dogs and Loki's mum was taken to the RSPCA when the family decided they didn't want their six cats anymore) When Loki was born, and Bianca begged me to let her have a kitten, I didn't want to, I knew Arella wouldn't like it and then there's the extra cost. I rang the RSPCA to ask how they were going with abandoned kittens and I remember her saying they were inundated with them, so I gave in and essentially saved a kitten from a needle death.

I searched for numbers on how many animals are euthanased yearly and reading articles on animals in shelters was getting too heartbreaking.

I found this "71% of cats and 56% of dogs never make it out of a shelter" and

"Every day across Australia, 550 HEALTHY cats and dogs are euthanased DAILY"

DAILY!?!!!
That's almost 201,000 aYEAR!!!!!
and doesn't include the animals that are just dumped, left to roam, or taken to the bush to turn feral or die.

One of the main reasons for not getting the animal desexed is cost.
These are some others

• Desexing will change her personality.

• It is better to have a litter of kittens before desexing her.

• I want for my children to see the miracle of birth.

NONE OF THESE ARE A GOOD ENOUGH EXCUSE!

If you can't afford desexing then get a budgie or fish.

There are options for people who don't have a lot of money, you can get discounts

According the NDN these are some Benefits of Desexing

Health

• Reduced risk of getting cancer or other diseases of the reproductive organs, such as testicular cancer, prostate cancer/disorders in males, and cystic ovaries, ovarian tumors,
  acute uterine infections and breast cancer in females, and
  also other diseases like mammary cancer, perianal tumors
  and perianal hamias.
• Females can suffer from physical and nutritional exhaustion if continually breeding.
• Pets generally live longer and healthier lives.

Behavioural

• Pets are less prone to wander, fight, and are less likely to get lost or injured.
• Reduces territorial behaviour such as spraying indoors.
• Less likely to suffer from anti-social behaviors. They become more affectionate and become better companions.
• Eliminates "heat" cycles in female cats and their efforts to get outside in search for a mate.
• Eliminates male dogs' urge to "mount" people's legs.

Cost

• Reduces the cost to the community of having to care for unwanted puppies and kittens in pounds and shelters.
• No additional food or vet bills for the offspring.
• No need to find homes for unwanted or unexpected litters of puppies or kittens.
• Save money from expensive surgeries from car accidents or fights, which are less likely to occur if your pet doesn't roam around.
• Dumping puppies and kittens is an ethical cost, as well as being illegal and inhumane.
• The price of desexing is more affordable to those in financial need with the assistance of organisations such as NDN.

You can apply thorugh the National Desexing Network (NDN) to get cheaper desexing which is what we did when we got Loki desexed.

And after Christmas the amount of unwanted animals is going to be high, because cute wears off, puppies cry at night, cats need their trays cleaned out.

Why wouldn't you get it done, why would anyone want beautiful innocent animals to be born just so they can die unwanted.

It's heartbreaking, it's infuriating and It's evil!!

When Arella (which is Hebrew for Angel messenger) was a kitten, she literally saved my life, when I was so deep in depression after my marriage ended, when I was alone, in tears and in a mind space of there only being one way out... Arella would look for me and climb onto my shoulder, purring and she'd snuggle into my neck and sleep, she got me through my darkest days. Even now, after my surgeries, she stays by my side when I come home from hospital, she is very aware of how I am.

Our animals are our friends, our confidants, our saviours, our laughter and happiness. They are faithful and loving even when they're abused. And they deserve so much better than what some people give them.

If you don't have your pets desexed then you are an irresponsible pet owner