Street Cats in Israel

REALITY CHECK

The reality of life and death for cats on the street, without homes or responsible caregivers, is extremely harsh. Spaying and neutering, and even feeding cats, is not enough. Many of the cats in the photos on this page were spayed or neutered, as you can see from the clipped ears, and they were released into a situation where they had no responsible caregiver. The result is evident from these photos.

Without a regular source of water, cats become dehydrated and die of kidney failure. Without adequate and regular food, they become malnourished, their teeth become rotten, making it difficult to eat, and their resistance to disease is lowered. Without veterinary care, their chances for a healthy life are negligible.

Cats on the street can be hit by cars or injured by other animals or cruel people; they can develop an infection from being scratched in a fight with another cat or from cutting their tongues or paws on items in the garbage, such as the jagged edges of cans or pieces of glass. In winter months, a cat will climb into a car motor seeking heat; when the driver starts the car, the result is severe burns over the cat's body.

Their deaths are not peaceful. They may crawl behind a building or under a bush where you do not see them, but most often they die slowly, in agony.

Please do not inflict this fate on cats. Not every place is suitable to release cats, spayed or not.

Gangrene of the mouth		Gangrene of the mouth
Gangrene of the mouth		Gangrene of the mouth
Hit by car; death from severe head trauma		Hit by car; death from severe head trauma
Death from severe burns		Death from severe burns
Ruptured abscess		Necrotic foot; caused by chemical burn
Advanced scabies		Orphaned kittens, whose chances for survival on their own is very low
		This cat (left) was being given a little food by workers at a factory near a taxi stand. When she wandered near the stand in search of more food or affection, the drivers would kick her. Her diaphragm was ruptured, so if she ate, her full stomach would press the diaphragm up against her lungs and prevent her from breathing. She had to choose between eating and breathing, and was starving. Eventually, she would have suffocated to death.