Hundreds of cats desexed as part of support program

Fraser Coast residents are being reminded it is compulsory to desex their pet cats and dogs following the release of new figures showing 247 cats were desexed in 2019/20 with the support of a special financial assistance program.

Councillor Zane O’Keefe said Council was proud to partner with the National Desexing Network (NDN) to offer discounts to pension and concession card holders to desex their cats. “It is compulsory for cats and dogs on the Fraser Coast to be desexed before 22 weeks of age, with some exemptions,” he said.

“Desexing delivers a range of benefits including ensuring animals are more content, less aggressive and have fewer health problems, while it also reduces the numbers of unwanted animals that may have to later be euthanized.

“Each female cat can produce on average 10 kittens a year so desexing 247 cats on the Fraser Coast through this support service last financial year helped prevent the birth of thousands of kittens.”
Four Fraser Coast vet clinics participated in the National Desexing Network program to help families in need desex their pets.

Owners pay $65 to desex a female cat and $50 for any additional female cat in the same household, and $55 for a male cat.

The remainder of the vet fee is subsidised by Council and the NDN.

“The program provides ongoing support for residents who would not otherwise have been able to desex their pets,” Animal Welfare League of Qld Strategic Director Dr Joy Verrinder said.

“That includes pensioners and concession card holders, people on low incomes, or with too many cats; especially those have taken in a stray only to find it is pregnant.

“It has helped greatly break the breeding cycle where several litters can be born in quick succession as the mother cat can become pregnant while still weaning her kittens. 

“Often these kittens are given away and also get pregnant within four to five months, and so the cycle goes on, if support is not available.”

The service benefits the whole community:

• It assists those who are most vulnerable in the community who often need the support of a companion animal;
• It provided a benefit to non-cat owning residents who do not want cats in their yards or are concerned about roaming cats killing native wildlife;
• It reduced the numbers of unwanted and unowned cats being born;
• It reduced impacts of wandering and unowned cats on native wildlife;
• It reduced Council costs in managing unwanted cats and nuisance issues. It is cheaper to subsidise desexing than to manage unwanted cats and kittens after they are born. (It costs $220 to collect, hold in the pound, and euthanize a cat, and a further $400 to desex, microchip, treat for any injuries or illness, care for and rehome the animal.
• It reduced negative impacts on staff mental health in Councils, shelters and veterinary clinics which manage and often have to euthanize distressed abandoned animals.

Council is participating in the program again this year.

For more information contact the National Desexing Network on 1300 36 89 92 or visit https://ndn.org.au/