Animal charities and local vet practices have come together in Sheffield to reduce the number of unwanted cats and kittens. The initiative responds to an eight per cent increase in cats brought to the RSPCA over the last two years, with a total of 31,000 in the last year alone. Six charities and eight vets are taking part in the project. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke to Carrie Stones, RSPCA cat population control manager for the north.
Owners of dogs and cats are being advised to keep their pets indoors and away from fireworks during bonfire night. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Cat Henstridge of Peak Vets.
Sheffield Cat Centre has been looking after abandoned cats since 1897. They house nearly 500 cats a year.
Regular listeners to Sheffield Live! will already know that Cats Protection has launched a new Find a Cat service, which has been advertised across our programmes over the last few weeks.
The new ‘Find a Cat’ function on the charity’s homepage allows people to view all the cats available for adoption within a 30-mile radius of their home.
By entering their home postcode, potential adopters are instantly directed to pages showing pictures and fact-files on all the fabulous felines in their area in need of good homes.
Lee Bishop, Website Manager for Cats Protection, said: “Previously, visitors to our website looking to adopt had to use the ‘find us’ page, search for their local branch or branches, and then visit each site separately for their adoption pages.
“The new tool is an easy to use, one-stop shop for your area, and as we are the UK’s largest feline welfare organisation, it will be the UK’s most comprehensive rehoming web function solely dedicated to cats.”
Cats Protection is keen to encourage people to adopt rather than buy if they are considering getting a cat, as figures from the charity’s national helpline currently show that for every one person enquiring about adopting a cat there are 10 people calling to give up a cat or report a stray. The ratio was one to three in 2009 and indicates a bleak future for cats.
Lee added: “We hope that the ‘Find a Cat’ tool will make it easier for people to adopt a cat from us. Adopting from Cats Protection means you are not only giving a home to an animal in need, but you will also have peace of mind that your cat has been examined by a veterinary surgeon, microchipped, vaccinated, neutered (if old enough) and will come with four week’s free insurance.
“With the launch of the new ‘Find a Cat’ function, we sincerely appeal to the cat loving public to visit the page and consider giving one of our marvellous moggies a loving and responsible home.”
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