Animal Talk with Tammy Ven Dange | July 25

This August, we hope to once again desex 500 cats with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of unwanted felines in our community.

In the last two years of this program, we have collectively desexed 876 felines at a cost of $127,548 to RSPCA ACT. Fortunately for us, about a third of this program has been offset by a grant from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.

Still, why would we invest so much time and resources into a campaign like this? The answer is because it actually costs more to care and rehome unwanted felines than it does to desex them for free for that one-month period. 

Each cat that comes through our shelter must be processed, vet checked, vaccinated and dewormed. Sometimes they also require additional treatments for fleas, dental disease, injuries or illness. The majority of the stray cats will not be reclaimed, but we’ll have to hold them for seven days per legislation at an average staff cost of $25/day. Then once that period is over, the cats will be behaviourally assessed, desexed and microchipped prior to being made available for adoption.  The entire process averages about 20 days of care for cats and 32 days of care for kittens.  

Yet, it’s not just a cost issue, it’s first an animal welfare issue.  

Some unwanted cats are left pregnant and alone when they are barely out of kittenhood themselves. Others become targets for cruelty, suffer from disease, face starvation and risk injuries from other animals and vehicles on a daily basis. Then, there’s the additional impact to native wildlife when cats are roaming.

So what can you do?

If you hold a DVA Gold Card or Centrelink Concession Health Card, and live in the ACT or the bordering NSW communities of Jerrabomberra, Queanbeyan, Googong and Karabar, you are eligible. Everyone else is eligible for a 10 percent discount. Visit our website at www.friskytom.com for more information.