Victorian Animal Aid - My Cat scheme

The Cat Crisis Coalition, made up of the state's six biggest animal welfare shelters, including the Animal Aid, collectively pledged $30,000 to share among the first 12 local government areas to implement mandatory desexing last month.

Workers at the Victorian Animal Welfare shelter are sick and tired of being the community's executioners

Each year shelter staff are forced to put down more than 30,000 cats; most of them are perfectly healthy and rehomeable cats and kittens. It appears climate change may be adding to the problem as the current run of warm weather has all of the shelters are inundated with unwanted cats.

The shelters are united in their view that the current situation is appalling, unethical and unacceptable and believe the only solution is the compulsory desexing of all pet cats.

Quite simply not enough people are having their cats desexed.

The shelters are calling on all local councils to make desexing mandatory. They are also calling on pet owners to desex their pets.

To show the seriousness and commitment of the welfare groups to the issue, the MY CAT incentive scheme is offered to any council which introduces mandatory desexing or cats.

Through MY CAT the shelters will subsidize any council which makes desexing compulsory in order to help people who cannot afford to desex their cat. The total cost of desexing to the owner will be a maximum of $50.

Seven country councils across Victoria have already introduced mandatory desexing, including Wangaratta, Greater Shepparton, Mornington Peninsula, Cardinia and La Trobe. Three more councils including Hobson's Bay, Hume and Brimbank are showing interest in the scheme.

Desexed cats are healthier, live longer and are less likely to suffer from antisocial behaviors such as spraying or, more seriously, fighting which can lead to expensive veterinary care.

Ensuring all domestic cats are desexed is the responsibility of cat owners and must be considered as part of the overall care of all cats, male and female.

Reference: www.catcrisis.com

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