I found when I lived with my parents the best way to approach them was with a plan. Have you investigated low cost spay/neuter clinics in your area? If so, what is their waitlist like? It sounds like you have a lot on your plate what with college and all your fubabies. But, I would investigate some alternatives before presenting to your parents. That way you have a firm plan of attack on how you are going to deal with all that is going on. Good luck!

 

There are groups that help with the cost of "fixing" an animal maybe call a local rescue and ask if they are aware of any groups. My vet actually works with a group and he informed me about them.

 

I'd contact local Spay/Neuter clinics, cat rescues, vet clinics and see if any of them will offer reduced price or free.

You might be able to classify them as partially feral and get a reduced/free price that way.

It sounds like they're outdoor cats? Any chance you can move them inside or into a garage?

I'd keep looking into rehoming options as well. It sounds like you all are overrun with kitties, or going to be again shortly

 

Ditto the others. Look around online for Spay and Neuter Clinics/programs that service your area.
You may also be able to fine some sort of "Trap, Neuter, Release" type program for feral cats.

I posted some links to sites listing Spay/Neuter Programs in this thread (post #17). IDK if they'll help find something in your area but certainly won't hurt to look!
http://www.dogforum.com/dog-health/if-when-you-cant-afford-vet-26920/

 

I agree with Questsmom. They really need to get spayed asap-where are all these kittens going?

 

That's great you are looking into this and trying to get it taken care of before you leave. I know you know, but this problem won't end or be less bad just because you aren't around to see it. Once you get them spayed, please discourage your parents from taking on any more animals.

What I did with my grandma--who could more than afford to have her cats spayed, just didn't prioritize it--was scheduled and took the again-pregnant stray they found/kept to my vets to have a spay/abort (I honestly didn't even ask them if I could, I *told* them I was doing it), and took her and the two kittens from Litter 1 to school with me, had them spayed at our low-cost clinic, kept them through recovery, and took them back to my grandparents, upon which time they reimbursed me. Considering the expenses to feed litter after litter and worrying about where they'd end up, once everything was said and done, they were grateful to just be able to hand a check over to me and be done with the problem of unspayed cats.

If you don't have any resources like people listed above in your own region, call the shelters/humane societies in the larger cities around you and ask them about similar programs. If they have decent cat adoption programs, maybe even ask about surrendering the cats.

The other thing is, if you have a couple hundred for Buddy right now, you could take anything over that and pay for the spays yourself (and use CareCredit for any unforeseen emergency). Another option is to actually apply for CareCredit now and use that to pay for the cat spays. Usually the first six months are interest free, so even if each spay was $200, you would only have to pay $100 per month. Perhaps, you could come up with a plan with your parents on how to cover those payments, with both of your cutting back expenses, chipping in, or picking up odd jobs or collecting cans, etc.

 

Thanks everyone I know of one low cost spay/neuter in the town by ours, but it's a different county, so I don't know if they'd help us (we live in the rural corner of our county; The county line is literally a three minute walk from our house, and a three second drive, it's an hourish drive to the nearest city actually in our county.)

They are not outside cats, the boys are indoors/outdoors, and the girls are almost always kept inside, which is why we've had so few litters over the nearly two years we've had them. Close friends and well screened people are the one's taking in the babies (there's been six total born, we have four currently, one is going to a new home soon and one is still looking for a home that meets my standards) The problem comes in when my brother comes over and let's the girls out, since Reef is the only un-neutered boy and he's kept separate for now, until I get him neutered.

And I know I made it sound like we're over run with kitties, but while we have more than most people, it's not unmanageable yet. I worry it will be, though, since my mom's preferred method of kitty birth control is ignoring the problem and hoping it resolves itself.

A list of our kitties:
1.Coral & Smokey--Current babies, going to new homes (I'm screening people now)
2.Gypsy--12+ years old, moms
3.Keona--3/4 year old kitty causing all our problems, moms
4.Faith--Her daughter that didn't find a home, moms
5.Reef--Son that didn't find a home, mine
6.Butters--8 years old, My brothers cat that he thought would be okay to dump with us, as if we didn't have enough problems already. But I don't need to rant right now lol.

So technically we have seven right now, we'll have 5 when the babies are gone, 4 when I move out, and 3 when mom finally makes my bro take his cat back. So 3 is how many my mom will be left with, and once their fixed, that will be completely manageable for her, since it'll just be them and Sophie for her, Gypsy and Sophie are already fixed. The problem here is getting her to spay Faith and Keona, because she seems to think it's a waste of money.

I know a lot of you are probably thinking we're crazy for not just rehoming, and if my mom wants to go that route with Faith, we probably will. But Gypsy is so old (and we've had her since she was three weeks, we bottle raised her after she was found in a field) that it wouldn't feel right, and Keona is all black. Even with Halloween behind us, they're are year-round freaks out there. I would honestly take her myself before letting her go to a stranger, as stupid as that is.

 

if you call your local humane society they will put you in touch with a government program that will spay and neuter for $25. I knew someone one time that was laid off and had no money and with prof he couldn't afford even the $25 they did it for him for $5

 

Well, I get that you guys might not feel overrun by the cats, but if you can't afford to have them spayed, it doesn't seem like it's under control from a financial standpoint. The other thing is whether all the kittens your cats are producing are getting speutered in the homes they're at now? That's where the problem multiplies exponentially, so even if you only have a couple litters, you need to ensure all the kittens are speutered.

Re: the other county, it may not be totally upfront, but don't offer the fact that you don't live there--if they ask, that's another thing. Also, I was able to sign all the paperwork at the low cost clinic as if the cats were mine, even though they weren't mine and came from the other side of the state.

I know *you* try to take responsibility for the animals you consider yours, and I know it's frustrating for you to have family like this. Just be firm with your parents and explain why your cats reproducing are adding to a huge problem of cat overpopulation. Give them some stats for your region, ie how many are put to sleep due to overcrowding in your shelters, how many cats can be produced by one female cat and her offspring over a ten year period, etc.

 

Their was a program on that list that's close to me, I left a message with them requesting they get back to me with more information, so hopefully I hear back soon.

I am feeling a little worried that my mom will be upset with me for doing this without her permission.

ETA: I know ''under control'' isn't the best choice of words, and really it's not, but I just mean I know for a fact that once I get this taken care of she won't get any more animals, and right now we are overwhelmed with cats, and I'm trying very hard to fix it and manage it as best I can, but it's so frustrating to me because I'm the only one trying at all, and I shouldn't be, it should be a group effort. But the fact is, it will never be a group effort. My mother and stepfather were raised with a country state of mind, where cats get pregnant and have kittens and that's just the way life goes, and animals are replaceable and going to the vet is stupid. I'm still ridiculed to the point that I don't even participate in the holidays with my family because I let Buddy stay inside with me and I fought for that. I haven't even talked to my extended family in a year, longer than a few minutes. And my immediate family all still live in that state of mind, and I can't keep feeling responsible for it. It's going to kill me trying to take care of all of their animals because they won't.

I do make sure the kittens go to homes that will spay and neuter, which is why I stepped up and took Reef in when they were going to take him to the flea market. Back to the responsibilty thing, I felt responsible for his existence, so I felt responsible for making sure he didn't bring other cats into this world. And I know he would have, because males are almost never neutered, since they can't bring home what they make (around here, that's the belief anyways.)

 

Oh, trust me, I am familiar with their mindset re: cats and country people. Around here, our finest ******** go "cat shootin'" for "population control." That's why I got my grandma's cats spayed because it could have become a problem very fast. When I was a kid, they had an unspayed outdoor female cat who had litter after litter, and eventually they had close to two dozen cats running around outside--the ones that didn't get picked off by predators, wander off, get killed, etc. And their solution? Ask my grandpa's brother to "get rid of them." That meant either killing them or dumping them--I never found out which since I was so little. We don't agree on standards of animal care at all (and have battled it out several times), and I think a lot of it is because they were both ranch raised and ranched themselves in times and regions when/where certain animals didn't have much value.

Anyways, good luck. Glad you're making sure the kittens are speutered and trying to do the same for your family's cats.