Cat Admissions to Melbourne Shelters
Summary
Understanding the characteristics of cats entering shelters can help direct policy on how to reduce shelter euthanasia.The main findings were as follows:
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The majority (78.51%) of cats were admitted as stray cats by Animal Management Officers (AMO's) or the public. By contrast, owner surrenders accounted for only 21 percent of total admissions.
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Nearly three-quarters (73.33%) of admissions to the participating shelters involved multiple animals, either colonies of cats, mothers with kittens or multiple kittens admitted without their mother. 'Kitten only' admissions formed 23.4% of all admissions with virtually all being presented by the public (63.8% as strays and 32.6% surrendered by owners).
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The majority (63.43%) of cat colonies were admitted by AMOs. Nearly two-fifths (38.7%) of the cats admitted to shelters were trapped before admission, mostly (72.8 %) by AMOs. Colonies of cats formed the majority (63.1%) of trapped cats and were trapped significantly more often than other admission types, such as single cats, kittens etc.