It is easy to judge people for their indiscretions especially when innocent animals are involved. However there may be that the former homeowner had some sort of emotional or mental inbalance and became overwhelmed into inaction. This happens all over the world, some people actually end up moving out of their homes and into their garages, leaving the poor animals to go feral.
It is a shame and it is a testament to the need for more public education and outreach

isnt it awful. 50 more cats now that need new homes and many may even be euthanised before then, especially if they have any health problems. my husband used to work with a fellow who was always taking in stray cats and never had them sterilised so when a dumped kitten just showed up at his work, this guy was going to take it in, and I couldnt bear the thought of it so even though at the time we didnt want a cat we took her in instead. she's a cranky old lady now but she's had a good life and never had to fight it out with a bunch of others just to get a feed. I guess some people think they're doing the right thing but when it's like that they arent doing the cats any favours

I am working with a man who is rounding up and euthanizing about 100 cats. He and his wife had started to care for a couple of strays, and before long, a couple turned into over 100. None are vaccinated and all I have seen are infected with herpesvirus, causing severe respiratory infections and many have non-healing ulcers in their eyes. Some are blind because of it. His wife died a couple of years ago, and he was trying to keep up the work in her honor, but they didn't have enough money for basic healthcare so things got out of control very quickly. Herpesvirus is very contagious to other cats, so rehoming these poor things is not an option. They are all going to the shelter to be humanely euthanized. It's better for the cats, all the ones I have seen are suffering greatly. But I do feel really bad for the man because he feels like not only did he fail the cats, but he failed his deceased wife. He's taking it really hard. Luckily his church his helping him on that aspect, because it is really tearing him up.

You never know the whole story from the media.

Meghane, our local TNR deals with this all the time, elderly people who try to help strays by feeding them without spaying/neutering, and are soon overrun with cats. It's a sad situation for everyone.

I suspect that by the time the first litter comes along the cost of just getting up to 6 or 8 cats sterilised has blown out beyond a lot of people's budget and add to that food costs and vaccinations and it just doesnt work.

I dont for a minute think these people realise they are doing any harm and Im sure they genuinely care for the cats but in most cases the animals do suffer from health problems etc and end up being euthanised eventually anyway. it's just a shame that they dont realise from the outset how important sterilising is until it escalates to an overwhelming situation.

"You never know the whole story from the media."

Amen to that.

I'm really cynical about the media on this & other topics;
it seems like their purpose is not to "report" but to sensationalize.

Some people DO realize it and just don't give a flying rats tail...I have a neighbor who just had to let her oldest daughter get a kitten..female of course, well then a few weeks later the youngest daughter just had to have a kitten. Now 2 females..told friend get them spayed..Aww no they are house cats.. Yes so are mine..Get them spayed.. I can't afford it... Get them spayed!!.Fast forward a few months, female cats are driving her crazy and she throws them outside..Now both are preg...she was planning on dumping them at the pound and telling them they were dumped at her house.. I don't think she has taken them in yet. So our neighborhood is going to be over run with cats. All becausse she couldn't say NO to her children, she knew when she got them she couldn't afford to have them spayed.

littlebit

I know a seemingly educated person who criticized me for having my pets spayed/neutered, declaring that I was depriving them of a s*x life. Can you believe that?

I know an older lady who worried about the expense and left her two cats unfixed. She wasn't aware that that she could qualify for low-income spay/neuter vouchers. She ended up with fifteen cats in her one-room apartment.

A friend and I helped her get them all fixed. The lady chose three to keep and the others were placed with volunteers for a foster group.

This whole process took several weeks, and months later only eight have found permanent homes. I can't imagine what time and effort dealing with 50 would take.

Those rescue folks in the news story have their work cut out for them.

I know an older lady who worried about the expense and left her two cats unfixed. She wasn't aware that that she could qualify for low-income spay/neuter vouchers. She ended up with fifteen cats in her one-room apartment.

What I find amazing dealing with people like that (which I had to do plenty times)...is that they do not get it, it is much cheaper to fix one or two, than feed 10-15!