Canada cat count too high, study says
OTTAWA— A new study on cat overpopulation in Canada says more of the pets are being sterilized to reduce unwanted litters, but there are still more cats than people willing to give them homes.
The report by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies recommends more should be done to encourage spaying and neutering, even for kittens as young as six weeks old.
“Cat overpopulation continues to challenge communities across Canada,” says the report released Thursday.
“There are still twice as many cats being admitted to shelters as dogs and the fraction of those cats who are juveniles is also twice as high as for dogs, pointing to the continuing problem of unwanted litters.”
The report is an update to a similar study done five years ago. It includes the results of an Ipsos survey conducted last May.
The new findings indicate more cats are being adopted. Fewer cats are being put down and more lost cats are being reunited with their owners.
The number of cats that arrive at shelters already spayed or neutered is up, and more are being sterilized by animal-care organizations.
But the report says there are still too many cats and that won’t change unless spay and neuter rates improve.
“The good news is we’ve taken some giant leaps forward in cat welfare since 2012,” said Barbara Cartwright, CEO of the federation. “The bad news is it is not happening quickly enough to overcome Canada’s cat overpopulation crisis.”
The report notes there are an estimated 9.3 million cats in Canada. But for some reason, cats don’t receive the same care and consideration as their canine counterparts. The report recommends communities should promote the sterilization of cats and offer cost incentives for the procedure.
Toolika Rastogi, the federation’s policy and research manager said if more municipalities emulate what animal organizations are doing, spay-neuter rates are bound to improve.
“They need to do more,” she said.