Cat owners urged to neuter their pets, amid 'cat crisis'
Zodiac and her kittens were rescued by RSPCA after being found abandoned.
A group of charities is calling for cat owners to neuter their pets, as rescue shelters experience a ‘cat crisis’.
The calls, made on World Spay Day (27 February), respond to an unprecedented increase in cats being brought into the care of rescue centres.
The appeal has been made by the Cat-Kind group, which includes charities such as RSPCA, Cats Protection, PDSA and Battersea. The charities have joined forces to encourage the public to neuter their cats, in an effort to tackle the overpopulation crisis.
Animal rescue charity RSPCA has reported that its centres are completely full, leading it to spend funds on private boarding facilities. It reported 260 cats stuck in private boarding facilities in January, and 168 cats in February.
In January alone, RSPCA paid £12,804 each week to keep the cats fed and housed in private boarding facilities across England and Wales.
Furthermore Cats Protection reported 3,350 cats in its care, which is a five per cent increase in the past year. This follows a 47 per cent year-on-year increase of kittens being born in its care in 2023.
RSPCA’s cat welfare experts say that it doesn't usually see these kind of numbers until ‘kitten season’, during the summer months, which has led to concerns about future population numbers.
While RSPCA says it has neutered 46,000 cats in the past ten years, statistics from Cats Protection and PDSA found that there are still 1.4 million unneutered owned cats.
A female cat is capable of giving birth to 18 kittens per year. Cats Protection therefore encourages cat owners to neuter their cats by the time they are four months old, before they are able to become pregnant.
Sarah Elliott, central veterinary officer for Cats Protection, said: “We’d urge owners to help by ensuring their cat is neutered by four months of age. Some animal welfare charities like Cats Protection offer financial support towards the cost of this for owners on a low income.
“Not only does neutering help reduce the unwanted cat population, it also means cats lead healthier, happier lives. This is because neutered cats are less likely to roam far from home or get into fights with other cats, both of which can increase their risk of injury or picking up illnesses.”
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Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
