Cat welfare organisations have come together on World Spay Day (Tuesday February 22) to urge owners to get their cats spayed.
The Cat-Kind Group, made up of a number of cat welfare charities, has come together to highlight the importance of neutering, which dropped significantly during the pandemic.
There are an estimated 10 million cats in the UK, with an average neutering level of 91% in recent years, but this figure dropped to 86% during the pandemic in 2020, the lowest level for nine years. Numbers have begun to rise again, with 90% of cats being neutered in 2021, but this still means there are over one million unneutered cats in the UK, according to the group.
Cat charities now fear that an increase in demand for pets and a lack of neutering services being available during the pandemic, could result in a “cat breeding explosion” and add to the population of unowned cats living on the streets, or in rescue centres, across the UK.
Members of Cat-Kind include RSPCA, iCat Care, Cats Protection, PDSA, Battersea, Blue Cross, the Scottish SPCA, Wood Green, Mayhew, Celia Hammond and Pets at Home. The group has created a toolkit for animal welfare organisations and vets, including posters and graphics, to communicate with the public about neutering.
RSPCA cat welfare expert Samantha Watson said: “Although the decrease in neutering is fairly small, this equates to a lot of unneutered cats meaning that we could have a cat breeding explosion on our hands should these figures decline again. Since 2012, the neutering figures hadn’t dipped below 90% so it was really concerning to see so many cats not being neutered during the pandemic.
“We would urge owners to please get their cats neutered from four months old before they can get pregnant. Last year the RSPCA took in over 4,000 cats and many of these were unwanted litters which had been abandoned in boxes, pet carriers or even thrown in bins!
“Neutering your cat ensures that you will never have an unplanned litter of kittens to care for – and pay out for – and will ease the strain on charities like ourselves who are left picking up the pieces when these cats and kittens are sadly no longer wanted.”
