Kitsap Humane Society : Dedicated to Respecting All Animal Life

Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year: 6–8 million (HSUS estimate).
Number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year: 3–4 million (HSUS estimate).

Number of cats and dogs adopted from shelters each year: 3–4 million (HSUS estimate).

Number of animal shelters in the United States: Between 4,000 and 6,000 (HSUS estimate).

Number of cats and dogs reclaimed by owners from shelters each year: Between 600,000 and 750,000—15–30% of dogs and 2–5% of cats entering shelters (HSUS estimate).
Percentage of dogs in shelters that are purebred: 25% (HSUS estimate).

Average number of litters a fertile cat can produce in one year: 3.

In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can theoretically produce 420,000 cats.

Average number of kittens in a feline litter: 4–6.
Average number of litters a fertile dog can produce in one year: 2.

Average number of puppies in a canine litter: 6–10.

In six years, one female dog and her offspring can theoretically produce 67,000 dogs.

The numbers and statistics are staggering. The crisis is this—too many companion animals competing for too few good homes. This is the most obvious consequence of uncontrolled breeding. However, this is not just an animal welfare issue but rather a social problem. Each year communities are forced to spend millions of taxpayer dollars trying to cope with the consequences of this surplus of pets. These public costs include services such as investigating animal cruelty, humanely capturing stray animals, and sheltering lost and homeless animals.
The answer to our problem is simple—spay or neutering our companion animals. However, for this solution to be effective, every pet owner needs to choose to be responsible. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) 2001-2002 National Pet Owners Survey, 70% of owned dogs are spayed or neutered and 80% of owned cats have been altered. Clearly the above statistics prove that these percentages are not enough and that we need to get the percentage of altered animals even higher than they currently are. Please help us by having your pet spayed or neutered!