~ Abraham Lincoln

For the last several weeks, I've been aware that a cat gave birth to at least three kittens underneath the playhouse in our backyard. I don't know if the mother is a stray or an unspayed pet that's allowed to roam the neighborhood.

Our inventory shows one white kitten, one gray kitten and one calico kitten. I really want to do the right thing by these kittens. I'd like to make sure they are sterilized and adopted into loving homes, thus preventing them from becoming fertile feral cats that multiply the problem.

That problem is substantial: One female unspayed cat can be responsible for more than 400,000 kittens over seven years; one male unneutered cat can sire 2,500 kittens in a single year. Doing the right thing requires trapping the kittens with a live trap to prevent getting scratched in the process. As one Web site said, holding a feral kitten is like holding an animated cactus.

With that in mind, I set about finding a live trap to borrow. I contacted Morgan Hill's animal control services and was told that they don't help at all with cats. When I pressed, I was told that they do have a live trap to loan, but that it was currently being used. I put my name on the waiting list nearly two weeks ago.

Next, I contacted a local nonprofit cat rescue group. They would only help me trap the kittens if I agreed to foster them. With a two kids, a dog, two cats, a full-time job, part-time work, extensive volunteer commitments and no knowledge about fostering kittens, I cannot make that commitment.

According to my research, it's best to trap feral kittens by their eighth week for optimal socialization. I can't tell by looking how old these kittens are, but I'm guessing they are rapidly approaching their eight-week birthdays. Meanwhile, despite being ready and willing to do the right thing by these cats and my community, I'm stuck. I'm waiting for a loaner cat trap from Morgan Hill.

I can't get the local nonprofit "cat rescue" group to help me rescue these kittens. That's not all: I know that if I do trap the cats, I won't be able to take them to the nearby animal shelter in San Martin because I don't live in the unincorporated Santa Clara County. I'll have to take them to the animal shelter in the city of Santa Clara.

It seems counterproductive to me, but I'm willing - despite gas prices nearing $5 a gallon - to make the long drive.

"Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want."

~ Environmentalist Joseph Wood Krutch

The lack of feline animal control services isn't limited to Morgan Hill. Last year, The Dispatch ran a story detailing the runaround Gilroyan Margaret Baker experienced while trying to get some agency to take the abandoned kittens she found. Baker, who said of Gilroy's animal control policies that ignore the suffering of feral cats, "You people make it very hard to do the right thing," eventually dropped the cats off at Gilroy City Hall, where employees adopted the kittens.

"It's deplorable," Baker said of the runaround. "How can anyone do the right thing?"

Baker was one step ahead of me: She had the kittens in hand. I can't even get that far.Taking a cue from cats who ask for what they want, I'm asking that the agencies in South County take these steps:

n Make more loaner live traps available.

n Forge an agreement between the cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill and Santa Clara County to allow city residents to take stray animals to the San Martin animal shelter.

n Establish ordinances in Morgan Hill and Gilroy to require residents to license their cats - as is the case for dogs - and dedicate that money exclusively to funding feline animal control services. The lives of feral cats are short, violent and painful. Because feral cats avoid humans, most of us don't see how they suffer. Mother Nature has given me a chance to reduce the problem with the kittens that were born in my backyard, but I cannot get the help necessary to do so.

Taking these three steps would go a long way toward reducing the number of suffering feral cats.

"Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight."

~ Nobel Laureate Albert Schweitzer

Lisa Pampuch Lisa Pampuch is a technical editor and a member of the newspaper’s editorial board. She lives in Morgan Hill with her husband and two children. You can reach her at lisapampuch@iname.com