What a blessing it is to have a furry or feathered friend. Being responsible for walking our dogs takes us out and about where we often meet like-minded dog caretakers. I like to walk the off-leash area in Dawson Park, and I’ve made all sorts of new friends there. Smaller dogs probably prefer walks around the block, where they catch up on their “p-mail,” but it still gets us out with them.

For those of us who are greeted by a cat when we come home, the pleasure of their purring helps to ease any tension brought about by less than perfect occurrences during our day. Okay, so if you were hoping for a pleasant read, you might want to stop reading right here. These cats who have trusted us with all their being deserve better than what some people do, or rather don’t do, for them. I’m talking about fixing, neutering, and spaying their cats (dogs too, but the dog population seems to be better controlled). The Edmonton Humane Society has the PALS Program to help low income people. Some people think that their cat doesn’t need to be fixed as he/she never goes out. But one only has to see how persistent a female in heat can be, to know that the wily vixen can find her way out.

I volunteer for a trap-neuter-return rescue which tends to feral colonies and traps the adults and returns them to the colony once they have been fixed. Kittens are caught, socialized, and put up for adoption. It’s heartbreaking to see the colony cats live their whole lives in strife and fear. The colonies start when lost or stray cats get together and reproduce. The kittens are feral and must be tamed in a very short window of time or they will remain wild all their lives.

There are an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 feral and stray cats in Edmonton. When I first moved into my house, a feral cat who looked to be a few months old kitten came around to eat the food I was leaving out for the previous owner’s cat. Neighbours had seen her around for several years. She had kittens in my garage. I didn’t realize that I needed to tame them right away, so they became wilder as the months passed. On a freezing November night they meowed at my back door and I let them into my basement. That’s when I became involved with Little Cats Lost.

Now that I’ve seen the misery that feral cats live with, I can only beg each and every one of you to get your cats fixed. It only takes one (well, two) escaped domestic cats to start a colony. Animals provide us with love and comfort, and they deserve the same in return from us. I also want to thank and acknowledge those of you who care for an animal – we know they return our love tenfold.

Manon is a resident of Boyle Street and an active volunteer in the community. This column contains her own opinions, and is not affiliated with the Boyle Street Community League.