Abstract
ANZCVS abstract
This abstract was presented as part of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists’ conference held from 23-25 June 2022.
TARGETED HIGH-INTENSITY CAT NEUTERING RAPIDLY DECREASES SHELTER EUTHANASIA OF CATS
Jacquie Rand 12
1School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Australia
2Australian Pet Welfare Foundation, Queensland, Australia
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Current methods of urban cat management result in the euthanasia of approximately 45,000 healthy and treatable cats and kittens in shelters and pounds across Australia each year, exacting a heavy toll on the mental health of staff.
A high-intensity free neutering programme (Community Cat Program) was implemented in the City of Ipswich, Queensland (human population 220,000), where traditional ‘trap-adopt-euthanase’ had been employed in response to cat-related complaints. Cat intake into the Royal Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) shelter averaged 15 cats/1000 human residents based on this method of cat management (with an average of seven in Queensland as a whole). The neutering programme was targeted to suburbs with the highest shelter intake of cats (21-25 cats/1000 human residents).
In the pilot suburb (human population 2800), 33 cats/1000 human residents were neutered over 12 months, resulting in a 50% decrease in shelter intake and a greater than 80% reduction in euthanasia within 12 months. A total of 1200 cats went on to be neutered over 18 months in three suburbs (human population 38,000). Most were owned cats (80%), and the programme was successful in converting semi-owners feeding 1-2 cats they did not perceive they owned, to owners (18% of cats neutered). Approximately 4% of cats neutered were in multi-cat situations and, of these cats, 46% remained semi-owned (covered by ‘restricted matter’ permit). Cost was the major factor for not neutering, and 66% of people enrolled in the programme would have paid $100 or less, and 89% would have paid $200 or less for neutering.
Programmes based on high-intensity neutering targeted to locations of high-cat intake are rapidly effective in reducing euthanasia rates of cats in shelters.
