I am going to sensitively suggest that Muslims in Luton and Bradford may be contributing to stray cat problems in those cities. These are my reasons:
I am told that Muslims in general are against spaying and neutering their cats. In addition they tend to shun the Western method of looking after domestic cats as “members of the family” and often loosely own them in much the same manner that Brits owned their cats 200 years ago when cats were semi-domesticated and lived outside and in an outhouse. This said it is probable that domestic cats are less popular with Asian Muslims than with non-Muslim Brits.
The Muslim attitude towards not neutering cats comes from their faith which apparently is against artificial methods of birth control
Sarah Hartwell (a cat expert and owner of messybeast.com) writes:
“….orthodox Muslims do not permit artificial methods of birth control as being against Muslim law. [Although] some cats owned by less strict households might have been neutered and might be kept in a more “Western” manner…Such pet cats are often on a par with farm cats (barn cats) and may be semi-wild or nervous rather than fireside kitties.”
I have not set out to criticise Muslims. I am just referring to facts and two stories from local newspapers, one from Luton, a town with a heavy Muslim presence (24.6%) and likewise Bradford (24.7%), specifically the Girlington and Wheatley Lane areas.
Apparently the Studley Road area of Luton is bad for stray cats. This area has a high Muslim population [link to census figures].
Note: I am not saying that all Muslims don’t spay and neuter their cats and neither am I saying that all British non-Muslims neuter their cats. I am simply suggesting that the attitude towards neutering amongst the Muslim community will of necessity cause more stray cats.
The Luton on Sunday online newspaper’s headline is: “Charities call Luton a ‘problem area’ for stray cats“.
Animal charities of Luton say that Luton has become a problem area for stray cats. A Cats Protection spokeswoman said:
“Luton is a particular problem area. Getting your cat neutered is extremely important…”
The Telegraph and Argus, a Bradford newspaper, has the headline: “Concerned charity boss pinpoints ‘terrible areas for stray cats’ in Bradford“.
The author writes:
“A CAT rescue charity is on the brink of closure as it struggles to deal with the large amount of cats and kittens dumped on its doorstep…”
The charity states that their advice to people in the area of Girlington and Whetley Lane in Bradford to neuter and spay cats is being ignored. These areas are primarily Muslim based on my research (wrong? Please correct me).
Girlington and Whetley Lane are:
“terrible areas for stray cats. They will just have litter after litter of kittens. Sometimes it seems like we are fighting a losing battle. It really is bad.” (Mrs Brenda Slattery of Allerton Cat Rescue).
To be frank when a person does refuses to spay and neuter their cat it is due to ignorance. If a person simply fails to do it is due to carelessness and ignorance. In the modern age this sort of behaviour should not take place or be acceptable in the interests of cat welfare and social cohesion.
Well, if there are no females, then of course, the best thing is to neuter the male as well. I agree with you on that. I thought there were both. At any rate, there are way too many cats, they are just so efficient as breeders.
By the way, my neutered male does mount my spayed female occasionally. He stays in this position for a few seconds, then she runs away. Obviously, I am pretty happy that both of them are neutered – last thing I want are a bunch of kittens especially as they are brother and sister, but I wonder if he doesn’t get confused at this point.
Kitty, yes it’s nature for a tom to seek out a female.
However, such as it is here now, thanks to TNR, there are no females in heat within a mile radius.
The last few toms that I have left to TNR just howl and howl and would rather search than eat or sleep. And, they find nothing satisfying.
To me, that is suffering. Raging hormones with no release can’t be fun.
In my mind, because they have no release, cry and cry every night, and lose weight and sleep, they are suffering.
It’s heartbreaking for me and am working hard to trap them and relieve them of the agony of nothingness.
It’s what they do. It doesn’t mean they are suffering. We have to prevent them from producing so many kittens and neutering is the most humane way of population control, true, but this is really the main reason. The other reason is our convenience – spraying tom or calling female are no fun to be around. Even outdoors, nobody wants ferals spraying in their backyard.
As to a male looking for a female in heat – this is exactly the same thing wildcats do, we aren’t saying they are suffering, right? Genetically, behaviorally, there is very little difference between wildcats and domestic cats. They can interbreed freely and produce fertile offspring. The only difference is that domestic cats have a survival advantage over the wildcats. This is probably why there is a big interbreeding problem wherever wildcats live in proximity with the domestic cats – European/Scottish wildcat females are only in heat once a year unless they lose a litter, so their males have better luck with domestic females and this leads to disappearing of wildcats. But still, you don’t need to think of domestic cats as suffering when they are exercising their natural behavior, it’s actually a bit arrogant on our part.
Didn’t make clear, I guess.
I was referring to males constantly hunting (searching) for females in heat.
Are you confusing the US with the UK? You do realize don’t you that there are native wildcats in the UK and that thanks to humans their numbers have dwindled? So you cannot claim that cats as a whole are non-native in the UK and that local bird population isn’t used to them. Domestic cats are very close to Scottish and Scottish and European wildcats genetically, I doubt you’d be able to tell the difference. Neutering prevents the domestic cats to interbreed with endangered wildcats, but since you are a bird lover, you should rest assured – cats are very natural in Europe.
I am all for neutering cats, but I consider it more of a necessity as there are just too many of them, and it’s far more humane to neuter them than to kill kittens which is what practiced in many places.
At the same time, while I’d agree that it’s cruel not to neuter cats that are not allowed to mate because it must be frustrating to have the natural urges and not be able to exercise them, I’d not go as far as to say how it’s cruel to allow animals to exercise their natural instinctive behavior. Who are you to say that it’s bad for the male cats to hunt when this is what makes cat a cat, ditto about procreation. We have to neuter them because they are just so prolific breeders, but I view it more like a necessary evil.