U of G researchers will help local task force develop strategies to manage ‘community cats’ in Guelph
By Teresa Pitman
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
U of G researchers will help local task force develop strategies to manage ‘community cats’ in Guelph
About 1,000 cats are brought to the Guelph Humane Society (GHS) each year; about eight per cent of those cats are lost and will be reunited with their owners — a much lower rate than the 44 per cent of lost dogs that were returned to their rightful owners in 2014. While GHS staff work hard to find new families for the rest of the cats, some are euthanized simply because there aren’t enough adoptive homes.
Shane Bateman, a clinical studies professor and chair of the board of GHS, says this is a national issue that was highlighted in a 2012 report by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.
“It was pretty shocking to read about the large number of cats presented to animal shelters each year,” he says. “Shelters are often criticized for their euthanasia rates but the real problem is that we treat cats differently than dogs. We let them roam, we are less likely to have them neutered or spayed and we are less likely to have some kind of identification on cats.”
Read the full story by Teresa Pitman in At Guelph.