I know I've been quiet a lot lately, but I'm hoping somebody here can
point me to some good sources of information.

I have a co-worker who needs some serious educating.

He's 21, and both he and his mother work at the same store where I
work. He's a bit weird, but I like his mom. Unfortunately, they haven't
been the greatest cat owners. The cat showed up a few years ago, and
moved in. They didn't get her fixed until after she had 4 litters of 4
kittens each.

I finally convinced her to get the cat spayed, and a week later, the
cat was hit by a car.

That was several months ago, but my co-worker still believes that the
cat being spayed is what caused the cat to get hit by a car.

Yes, I know that sounds completely stupid, but he's got it in his head
that spaying a cat causes them to have slower  reflexes, and that is
why the cat got hit.  It hasn't occured to him that an outdoor cat has
a high chance of getting hit by a car, and it was just coincidence that
it happened a week after she was spayed.

Since the idea is so idiotic, I doubt there are any statistics showing
that a lot of cats killed by cars were still intact (and thus it had
nothing to do with being spayed).

I've done some searching online, and I found some general statements
that altered cats live longer and indoor only cats live longer. And 3-4
million pets are euthanized each year. But I would really like to find
some good statistics showing the average lifespan of indoor vs outdoor
cats, altered vs intact cats, etc.

I would really like to show him with facts that the highest cause of
death of cats is euthanasia because of overpopulation. And the
overpopulation is caused by owners who don't spay their cats,
especially if they let them outside while intact.

He's very stubborn, and I really need to convince him. He was in the
breakroom today telling people that spaying a cat is a bad thing to do.
He's really convinced that spaying the cat is what caused her death.

In addition, one of the kittens was returned for a "temporary" stay.
Sounds like it might end up being permanent. Supposedly, the owner had
her spayed, but she's been gaining a lot of weight, and my co-worker is
speculating that the cat is pregnant. If this is true, the cat needs to
be spayed, and with his current mindset, he is not going to do it.

I got some general statements off the Humane Society website and a
couple others. But I would love to find some more detailed statistics.

And while I'm at it,  see my zoo crew (and a closeup of the Bluepoint
Lion) here:

http://64.246.176.163/2005.htm

Merry Christmas!

Meghan & the Zoo Crew