Tigger's Soap Box

The music playing is "Pie Jesu".

Now that you're here, PLEASE take the time to read this page. The old Tig is a pretty jovial cat most of the time, but sometimes I have to get serious. There are entirely too many unwanted animals in the world today, and it's time we did something about it. Maybe You don't need to hear my sermon, but perhaps you know someone who does. Please feel free to send this page to anyone you feel would benefit from this information.

Some Sad Facts

For every human born, 7 puppies & kittens are born.
One unspayed female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in 7 years.
A fertile cat can have 3 litters every year, beginning at age 6-10 months.
More than 12 MILLION animals are euthanized in animal shelters EVERY YEAR!
Millions more are abandoned to starve to death, or be killed on the highway.
Only 14% of people receive their pets from an animal shelter.

The poem below was written by a friend from the AcmePet Cat's Window Bulletin Board. I asked her if I could use it here, and she graciously agreed to share it. Please give your pets this same gift of love!

I Did A Great Thing Today

Dedicated to my Sweet Suzi Girl I dropped her off this morning and gave her a kiss goodbye,
she looked up at me with scared green eyes, wanting to know why...
So I told her about the kitties that are abandoned and alone,
hungry kitties, lonely kitties, kitties without a home...
I told her about the thousands of kitties being put to sleep each day,
and then I think she understood why she's being spayed today.

By: Jennifer Jean

A Mother's Story

I suppose it was just a matter of time before I wound up here. After all, you warned me time and time again that if I didn't stop getting pregnant you would leave me at the shelter. You always act like it's my fault; like I choose to have a litter every six months. Don't you understand that I can no more "choose" to stop having kittens than you can choose to stop breathing? I hear you telling the woman that works at the shelter that you tried your best to give me a good home, but I just kept having kittens. I see the look of anger & disgust that flashes across the woman's face as she patiently explains that it is very easy to prevent pregnancies by a simple, inexpensive spay operation. You just laugh and say that next time you'll get a male cat, so you won't have to worry about it. Then you're out the door and on your way, without even as much as a backward glance for me and my unborn babies.

The woman at the shelter looks so sad as she picks me up and walks down the hall. She hugs me close for just a minute and tells me that she is so sorry, but they aren't allowed to keep pregnant cats at the shelter. She tells me that it's not my fault; that I've done nothing wrong. She kisses me on the forehead, and places me on a cold metal table. A man in a white coat walks into the room. I hear him tell her how much he hates this, how it never gets any easier. He gently strokes my head, then sticks me with a needle. There are tears in the woman's eyes as she bends down and whispers softly in my ear. She tells me that I'll soon be going to a wonderful place with a bridge that's made from a rainbow.

I'm feeling very tired now, and as I fall asleep I can see it in the distance....the most glorious rainbow! I run into its beautiful light......

Would you like to know what life is really like at an animal shelter? Visit The Real World, but be forewarned; it won't be a pleasant trip.

Please spay or neuter the animals that share your life! Otherwise there can never be enough loving homes for all the animals that will be born. Also, please consider adopting your next pet from an animal shelter. Speaking from personal experience, shelter cats are the best! Cosmo,Noah & I all started our lives in a shelter, and just look at us now! We don't know what happened to our siblings, though. They might not have been so fortunate.

I recently received an email that I thought was so special that I wanted to share it here:

My name is Kit . I'm only 11. I don't have a site of my own. I decided to nominate my Mom & Dad for the Lifesaver Award. Since l moved to my new apartment, my family and I fed a group of strays outside of my house. The population kept growing and growing. Finally, sometime last year we found out about A.S.I.S. (Animal Sterilazation and Immunization Services) and about how important it is to spay/neuter stray animals, especially cats. Since then, we have gotten 3 Hav-A Hart cat traps, trapped all 11 cats in our colony and alot extra, rescued 14 kittens, and felt like our lives are worth alot more. Sincerely, Kit

I don't know about you, but I think this is pretty wonderful! Thanks so much, Kit for sharing this, and bless you and your parents and all the many other rescue workers like you for all the good work you do!

Tigger's Prayer

Sometimes when I'm lying content in the sun, I wonder why I was the fortunate one.

I was tiny & scared, just a pitiful kitty, In such a large shelter, in such a big city.

I still don't know why that my people chose me, I just know that I'm lucky, as lucky can be.

So for all of my brothers & sisters I pray; for all of the cats in the shelters today;

for all of the cats that are out on the street, with no place of safety and nothing to eat.

For cats that are there through no fault of their own, So frightened & lonely, so lost and alone.

I hope you can hear me when I say my prayers, for all the abandoned who think no one cares.

They all are God's creatures, though helpless and small, though homeless, unwanted. Please God, bless them all.

----Tigger, 1998-------

Want to learn about an easy way to start helping your favorite charity? Just click on the banner!

Looking for an animal shelter or an adoptable animal in your area? Just click on the graphic below: