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English 201
Solution Essay

Feral Cat Overpopulation in the Pacific Northwest

Domesticated animals have been a huge part of humans lives for hundreds of years. They bring to us joy, love and companionship in our lives. Unfortunately, it is also humans that have caused billions of animals to be homeless and in turn, overpopulate our communities. In some parts of the country, it is dogs that have become a problem for many people because of increased numbers that do not have a place to call home. In the Pacific Northwest, the place I call home, our ever increasing problem is feral cats. Currently, their are about sixty to one hundred million feral cats in the United States with numbers in the hundreds of thousands for our state alone.
The word "feral" by the Wikipedia encyclopedia means ". . . one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to its wild state." There are several reasons that cats have become this way, and why the population of them is growing. Having a cat (or dog) as a pet can seem like a great idea for many people, but they do not realize the responsibility that this ownership entails. Young adults first living on their own, couples and even elderly people choose to take on pets for various reasons. Due to life circumstances, sometimes these pets get the short end of the stick and too many times are abandoned because their owners move, home environments change, or they cannot financially care for them anymore.
When these animals get left behind, some die solely because they aren't used to fending for themselves. Having to hunt for food and watching out for predators such as raccoons, coyotes or the ever elusive motor vehicle is not something that previously indoor cats are used to. Cats that are outdoors are also susceptible to contagious and life-threatening diseases and parasites. Other times, when they do survive, they sadly aren't spayed or neutered...