RSPCA: More cats rescued than any other animal
23/10/2019
The RSPCA rescued more cats than any other animal last year after they collected more than 22,000 as a result of calls to their national cruelty line.
As we enter Cat Week as part of the RSPCA's month-long rehoming drive Adoptober, it has been revealed that the organisation's inspectors rescued the equivalent of more than 60 cats per day.
This is more than any other animal nationally and is four times the number of dogs (5,930).
RSPCA cat welfare expert, Alice Potter, said:
"Sadly, we know that cats are an extremely misunderstood pet and can often find themselves the victims of poor care.
Our inspectorate is getting calls every day from worried members of the public reporting cruel treatment towards these animals. While, the number of cats we're rescuing is equivalent to 60 per day - which is far too high.
Cats can become victims of air gun attacks as well as poisonings (both accidental and deliberate). Just like dogs they can also become victims of over breeding and over population.
We know that the answer to a lot of the problems relating to cats in this country is increasing the number of neuterings, which in turn will lead to fewer unwanted animals coming into our centres and branches.
We're calling for cat owners to neuter their cats at around four months old, rather than six months, which can greatly reduce the risk of them getting pregnant and owners being stuck with an unwanted litter.
If you're thinking of taking on an animal we would always urge people to look into adopting a rescue pet, as our centres are full of loving cats of all shapes and sizes looking for forever homes."
Find your purr-fect match
This month the RSPCA have launched a campaign for Adoptober and are dedicating the month of October to raising awareness of their vital work finding homes for animals most in need. This week (14-20 October) is dedicated to cats.
In 2018, the RSPCA managed to find new homes for 23,893 cats - more than 450 every single week.
To offer a rescue cat a new home, please visit the RSPCA pet search page to find your purr-fect match.
Minnie suffered from traumatic injuries before being rescued and rehoming by the RSPCA's Millbrook Animal Centre. There are hundreds of cats like Millie who are still waiting to find their forever home.
One of the benefits of adopting a cat from the RSPCA means they're already neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. You could also take advantage of four weeks' free RSPCA Pet insurance. What's more, if you decide to take out a full RSPCA Pet insurance policy once this has expired, you will also be supporting other rescue pets as 15 percent of the premium you pay goes towards helping animals in need.
There are many ways to support the animals looking for a home
If you're not in a position to give a pet a home this October, you can still help thousands of animals still looking for a home by:
- donating for Adoptober
- sponsoring a dog kennel or cat pod for just £1.50 a week
- show your support for rescue pets with one of the official RSPCA T-shirts.
You can also find out how to support the work the RSPCA do in your local area.