THEY’RE cute, they’re cuddly, but all too often they wind up without a home to call their own.
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’Tis the season when irresponsible pet owners seek to offload their unplanned and unwanted kittens.
If they’re lucky, the pitiful pussycats end up at the pound or a vet’s surgery where they have a fighting chance of being rehomed.
Unfortunately, though, far too many kittens are simply dumped and left to either perish or turn feral, posing a risk to other animals.
Every year, between December and March, Tamworth Veterinary Hospital receives a steady stream of abandoned kittens through its doors.
The pusses are vaccinated, microchipped, de-sexed, wormed and then put up for adoption, with a rehoming fee of $140 for males and $170 for females.
Tamworth Veterinary Hospital head nurse Kerrie Ebbeck said the surgery had a clear message to all the city’s cat owners.
“We want people to do the right thing and get their cats de-sexed. And if they’re not going to de-sex them, at least be responsible,” she said.
Statistics indicate that abandoned cats are significantly harder to rehome than their canine counterparts.
Last financial year, Tamworth’s pound received 254 cats, of which just 125 – or 49 per cent – were claimed or rehomed.
In contrast, of the 1127 dogs impounded, more than 75 per cent were either claimed or rehomed.
