Spencer - I agree with everything you say. I agree that an ideal situation would be a secure outdoor enclosure, but that is not possible for most of us. Even if I could afford it, I'm sure my neighbors in my fourplex would find it ugly and my landlord would probably tear it down (especially since he's already miffed at me because I'm allowed to keeps my four cats due to his negligence in not including a no pets clause in the lease!).

Also, your guarded assertion that shots last 3 years is correct. Most laws require rabies every year, but alot of vets (mine included) are now recommending all other shots every 3 years after kitten shots and the first annual booster because it is now becoming clear that the annual shots may increase the chances of a certain kind of malignancy showing up at the inoculation site.

Also, I agree about how feral cats should be handled. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts about having previously lived in Denton. Denton has a large feral cat population, probably because of a lack of any local humane societies and the large transient population. I was involved with a group of people (too informally gathered to be called an organization) who worked to capture, vaccinate, and neuter/alter feral cats and then re-release them. We felt this was the best thing to do since there were no shelters (except the city) and all the foster homes were bursting with overpopulation. Any kittens were taken in to foster homes and eventually neutered/spayed and found homes since they could be tamed. We hoped that we were at least helping to control the population of unwanted cats, if nothing else.

Lastly, I agree that too many times the foster homes are too crowded, but as long as only a precious few of us are willing to help these poor unwanted creatures and as long as the goofus clods out there insist on not neutering/spaying and then allowing their animals to roam or, worse, turning them out and abandoning them, the problem will continue. The way I look at it, we (society collectively, of course) tamed these animals to the point that they can no longer take care of themselves adequately, and their basic instincts now serve to do them harm instead of just merely ensuring the survival of the species, it is up to us to do all we can to take care of them and try to do what we can to cut down on the population in any way. This includes fostering with neutering/spaying as well as educating the public, starting with school-age kids. The problem will probably never go away but some of us feel a duty to do whatever small thing we can. I know I'm preaching to the choir because I remember in some of your previous posts you have mentioned that your people foster, but maybe by posting in a public forum other people will decide to take it upon themselves to help out and more foster homes will open up and then there will be less crowding and more education going on. I get on my soap box for the kitties, Spencer, for all the kitties like you who don't have it so lucky, who don't have people that love them like yours do you!