Victoria faces a serious cat overpopulation crisis, with approximately 500,000 unowned (stray and feral) cats in the state.
The Lost Dogs' Home, in conjunction with a number of Victorian animal welfare organisations and government, is part of the Who's For Cats campaign, launched at the Home on the 6th December.
Who's For Cats aims to educate the community about the consequences of feeding unowned cats, and the impact it is having on the cat overpopulation problem.
By feeding an unowned cat but not taking full ownership or responsibility for them (eg they don’t desex or identify them, or keep them on their property), people are only contributing to the crisis.
Feeding unowned cats helps regenerate cat colonies by keeping cats alive and strong enough to reproduce.
50,000 cats are impounded in Victorian shelters annually, and 35,000 of these have to be euthanased. This is mainly due to poor health, or because not enough homes can be found for them.
Tragically, thousands of the cats that have to be euthanased each year in Victorian shelters are healthy, sociable kittens . There are simply not enough people to adopt them.
This situation is unacceptable on ethical and animal welfare grounds.
Please visit Who's For Cats for more information on the Who's For Cats campaign, or on how to take ownership of a stray cat.
