An updating report to one carried out five years ago by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies tells us that progress has been made in reducing the number of unwanted cats in the country but more work is required.
On an upbeat note, however, it is good to see that progress is being made and that it is as a result of taking humane steps without resorting to simply killing unwanted cats.
The positive aspects of the report are that:
- More cats are being adopted than before.
- Fewer cats are being euthanized.
- More cats are being reunited with their owners.
- More spayed or neutered cats are arriving at shelters indicating that cat owners are becoming more responsible with respect to preventing unwanted litters.
- The improvement in cat sterilization rates is due to animal organizations making it a priority.
- Fewer Canadians are letting their cats roam outside unsupervised.
On the downside, progress is too slow. More needs to be done to encourage spaying and neutering. There are still too many unwanted cats in the country. There are still unwanted cat litters and twice as many cats are admitted to shelters as dogs. The percentage of juvenile cats admitted to shelters is twice as high as that the dogs.
More municipalities need to adopt spay and neuter policies. Communities need to promote the sterilization of cats and offer incentives.
Source: The Globe and Mail
