Around 13,000 cats and kittens lose their lives in Queensland every year, the innocent victims of irresponsible and uninformed pet owners. That’s more than one every hour. And the problem grows bigger every year.
Thousands upon thousands of unwanted kittens are born each year across the state, simply because their owners have failed to desex their cats. Thousands of these kittens are dumped at the RSPCA. While we do our best to find homes for all the animals that come into our shelters, there simply are not enough people willing to adopt all these cats and kittens. Our staff then face the trauma of euthanasing hundreds of cats and kittens every day – many only just a few days old.
Female cats can potentially produce three litters of six kittens each year. Even more staggering, over the course of her breeding life, a female cat (and her offspring) may be responsible for the birth of 420,000 kittens.
Mandatory desexing is the only solution
The only long-term solution to preventing the deaths of thousands of cats and kittens every year is State legislation to make the desexing of cats mandatory.
RSPCA Qld recommends that kittens be desexed at 8 weeks to 3 months of age. Desexing your cat before it reaches sexual maturity will avoid unwanted litters and reduce or eliminate the incidence of some health and behavioural problems. But even if your cat is an adult, it is not too late to desex her/him.
It is just as important to desex male cats. In just one night, a male cat can impregnate as many females as he encounters, each giving birth to a litter of 6 to 8 kittens.
If you are not a registered breeder, you should desex your cat. Even if you are a registered breeder, please make sure you have caring homes to cater for ALL the six to eight kittens in every litter.
Don’t make innocent cats and kittens pay for your irresponsible behaviour with their lives.
DESEX YOUR CAT!
