Too Many Pets!

GOALS: To demonstrate how pet overpopulation occurs and to stress the importance of spaying or
neutering pets.

OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
Define overpopulation
Explain why spaying or neutering pets is important

MATERIALS:
Too Many Pets! game board worksheets
Dog or cat counters (or other small manipulative, such as beans)
Markers

ACTIVITY:
1. Give each student a game board and 12 dog/cat counters.
2. Explain that the board represents a typical U.S. neighborhood and the counters represent pets.
3. Have the students put 1 counter in 5 different houses.
4. Tell the students that some families choose to have more than one pet. Have them place 2 more
counters in 2 empty houses.
5. Explain that some families like even more pets. Have the students put 3 counters in an empty
house.
6. Tell the students that some families cant have pets. Brainstorm reasons why (allergies, housing
regulations, not enough time or money). Have the students draw an X on homes that do not have
any pets.
7. Pass out another small handful of counters to each student. These new counters represent babies
that were born to unaltered pets.
8. The students must find homes for these babies. The pets must fit inside the houses without spilling
over.
9. Evaluate what happened when the new pets arrived. Did they all find homes?
10. Continue passing out counters until the homes are full. Discuss what will happen now if the pets
have babies (they may become strays, be neglected by their families, or wind up in shelters).
11. Now explain that most cities place a limit on the number of pets a family may have. Why would
they do this? Suggest an average limit of two cats and two dogs per house. How many of the
homes on students game boards are over this limit? What will happen to the extra pets?

DISCUSSION:
There are millions of animals each year that enter animal shelters because they do not have a proper home.
An easy way to reduce the number of homeless pets is to spay or neuter your pet. Not only will this
decrease the numbers of homeless pets, but it also reduces certain types of cancer and certain behavior
issues related to hormones, such as marking territory, roaming, and fighting. Use examples from Its
Raining Cats and Cats! while discussing the importance of spaying or neutering pets.

Extend the learning by having students research their citys regulations around the number of pets they can
have (often found on city web sites).

Permission granted to educators to reproduce for classroom use. Reproducing for reprinting or resale prohibited without permission from AHS. AHS 2009