No, this is NOT the MSPCA!

Please pardon the image quality,
it was taken through a screen window

This is an open letter to the person or persons who keep dropping off their unwanted cats near my home:  you are assholes.  There's no nicer way to say it, you are quite plainly and simply assholes of the lowest order.  For whatever reason, the animal you once supposedly loved is no longer a welcome part of your life and it's more than likely your fault, not the animal's.

Is it a female who got pregnant and you can't deal with a litter of kittens?  You should have had the animal spayed to begin with or at least made sure she stayed indoors.  Any decent vet will tell you that you're not depriving the animal of anything by not allowing them outside.  Is it a male who's spraying around your house?  Then neuter the animal so he can't do that anymore.  Yes, I know that spaying and neutering cost money.  You should have considered that when you first thought you wanted that cute little kitten to live with you.

Do you have to move and now can't take the cat with you?  You should look harder for a more accommodating place to live, there are plenty of places out there where pets are welcome.  And as a last resort if you absolutely must part with your pet, there are shelters that you can take the animal to.  Granted. no-kill shelters are few and far between but they do exist.  Even if the animal has to be euthanized it's far more dignified and humane than letting that very domesticated pet try to fend for itself out in the wild.  More than likely the cat you just couldn't bear to have put to rest is going to get sick and die either from illness and infection or outright starvation.  Think about that the next time you tell yourself that you're doing that house cat a favor by abandoning it.

Maybe you assholes think that because you saw some cats in our yard that we wouldn't mind taking in your unwanted and no longer loved pet.  We already have three cats of our own to take care of and one more mouth to feed and care for does indeed cost more in terms of time, money and energy.  Besides which, we are in the process of trying to find another place to live.  Having multiple cats limits our choices considerably, so much so that the 3rd cat will either be going with my sister-in-law or to a friend's home instead.  The neighbors next door have two cats of their own to care for as well as a dog while the neighbors on the other side are an older couple who already have a large dog.  So stop trying to burden everyone in our neighborhood with your unwanted cats!

Over the years, we've had numerous cats suddenly appear here in our yard, some of them even taking up residence under our shed out in back.  When fully-grown cats still wearing pet collars show up in a neighborhood this remote it's painfully obvious that some asshole dumped them out here.  We now have a beautiful and very frightened tan and white cat haunting our front porch and it's breaking our hearts that we can't do anything to care for the animal.  We're not as cruel and callous as the person that left her here and listening to her crying outside isn't something we can easily ignore.

I can only hope that whatever asshole left her here will someday experience a similar fate when they've become too much of a burden to the people who supposedly care about them.