SPCA invites Woodville to adopt cats
“Why would you want to bring cats to Woodville for adoption when the town has such a feral cat problem?” That question was put to Wellington SPCA animal services manager Nick Taylor when he brought 10 cats up from the city for possible adoption on Saturday, May 26.
He answered from two perspectives. From a Woodville point of view he admitted Woodville like most towns has a feral cat problem and there is no easy answer to the problem but said introducing de-sexed, vaccinated and microchipped domesticated cats into the population helps stabilise cat population growth.
From the SPCA point of view his organisation deals with hundreds of domesticated cats needing a home and it is very difficult to find homes for them all in towns where there are SPCA centres. The answer, he said, was to bring some out to small towns like Woodville in the hope someone would like a feline companion.
Since SPCA regional centres joined the national body, there has been much more movement of cats to other towns. Masterton has sent 450 cats about the southern North Island in the last six months.
Laura Phillips, Dannevirke SPCA animal inspector, says a number of the cats cared for at Dannevirke are almost long-term residents and there is a chance some might be adopted in other towns.
“The most important thing is to find them loving homes,” she said.
She also advised a subsidised cat desexing campaign is set to start in early July (2-13). Bookings can be made at Dannevirke Vet Services or Tararua Vet Services from June 18.
And the good news — one cat called Mrs Poppy was adopted by a young couple.