Upcoming sterilization project at Krabi Temple

Just a few months ago we took on a new temple project at a temple called Wat Khoa Kram and it was very effective. Since we started before the population got out of control, we were able to curb the multiplication before it became a huge issue. Dogs can have 2 litters of puppies per year and you don't need to be a math wizard to understand how quickly this can become a massive problem.

With cats, unfortunately, the problem has the possibility to be even worse since they can have up to 3 litters a year and often do so. Cats, like dogs, follow their instincts made over thousands of years of evolution to have as many babies as they possibly can to ensure the survival of the species. In today's world this is no longer necessary and instead turns into massive overpopulation problems.

We already got the sterilization of dogs at this temple to 100% and now only need to be alerted if a new dog joins the pack. With the cats, the situation is a lot more complicated.

src

this temple is often referred to as just Wat Kaeo or also Wat Kaeo Korawaram but they are all the same place. It is a rather small temple in the center of Krabi city and the population of stray animals was never able to get out of control, but probably for the wrong reasons. Because of the location in the center of town, if not given food the animals would wander out and likely became a nuisance for the local community. While there is no official animal control in Krabi or most of the rest of Thailand, there are unofficial cullings that regularly occur. We would prefer to not have this happen. We have succeeded with the dogs and gotten them to a manageable level and have provided the staff at the temple with enough food so the dogs needn't wander around to knock over trash cans and be a public nuisance. This also encourages them to stay off the streets where they are often struck by cars.

With cats, the situation is a bit more complicated, because cats are more solitary animals and it can prove a bit difficult to find all of them.

Over time, we have gained the trust of the cats now and with the help of the monks there we have identified 25 females that are slated for sterilization. There is a little trick that you can use to discover if an area has any unsterilized cats in it and if you live in a part of the world without animal control you have probably heard it. Before mating, the male and female cat will enter an almost trance-like state where they appear to be getting into a very loud argument with lots of screeching and high-pitched sounds. I don't pretend to understand the entirety of this process, but if you think you have a population under control and you hear that sound, you were probably incorrect about having sterilized all the cats in the area.

Temples are unique in this regard because they tend to be walled and new arrivals, especially for cats, are unlikely unless they are intentionally dropped off by human owners who no longer want them.

Just one unsterilized female can quickly change the controlled situation though, as is shown by this graphic

now obviously there is no chance that the population would ever be capable of getting to 11 million in this tiny temple but that is because most of them would die out due to starvation and disease: A situation that obviously we would prefer to avoid.

With our partnership with Bangkok-Krabi Animal Hospital, it is remarkably inexpensive for us to sterilize all 25 of the estimated female cat population at this temple: Just 200 Baht per cat. This is around $7. The problem isn't the expense, it is the coordination of all the people that will be necessary to make this happen. Cats generally don't like to be tracked down and trapped, and they really do not enjoy being forced to hang out with other cats or even worse, dogs.

So this will be a multiple day event likely as we will need to get all the cats organized for the one day that the veterinarian will set up a mobile clinic. We are kind of enthusiastic about this program because since it is in the center of town and near a great many government administration buildings, we are hopeful that the government will take notice of our work and perhaps lend a helping hand in the future.

Thus far we are completely funded by donations, and it is likely that we will remain that way. What we would like to have happen, is for the government to recognize our work, and perhaps get involved in the education of the population to let them know that this situation being solved doesn't need to be restricted to temples and that it can happen anywhere for very little money.

This project will be taking place in early September, and we are working hard to make sure that everything runs smoothly!