Animal Husbandry Tūrangi’s cat desexing program is showing results

Forty-four kittens, five cats and four dogs currently live at Animal Care Tūrangi.

These include stray littermates rescued from a farm, a baby found in a dump in need of immediate medical treatment and a small, black kitten successfully trapped hours before the Taupō and Tūrangi Herald come to the middle.

Another young cat, only a few months old, shares a cozy cage with two kittens of her own; she came to the rescue while pregnant, but at a young age had no idea how to be a mother.

The sheer number of pets waiting for their own homes may sound overwhelming, but amazingly, manager Stacy Lewis says the number of cats arriving at their door is starting to drop.

Over Christmas, the center had 53 kittens to care for, with summer being peak time for strays and litters.

“Kitten season is brutal; everyone’s trying to enjoy some downtime but you’re stuffed.”

By the end of 2023, Animal Care Tūrangi had seen 178 animals come into the centre, the majority being kittens and cats.

In 2022, that number will be 240 and in 2021, it will be 340.

Lewis attributes the decline in use to years of work on a community cat desexing program.

Along with the hours spent caring for the animals at the center every day, Lewis spends hours on free and discounted desexing procedures.

This includes applying for grants from organizations such as the Pelorus Trust, Paws and the New Zealand Companion Animals Trust, as well as trying to get the community involved in the program.

That’s done in as many channels as possible, from social media to door knocking.

Cats are the focus because the scale of the problem is greater in the region, and cat desexing is cheaper than the same procedure for dogs.

This means Turangi Animal Care can use its limited funding more effectively, Lewis said.

The latest round of funding from the NZ Companion Animals Trust means desexing can be offered to some Tūrangi families for free, especially those who feed the wild and households that would otherwise struggle to pay for the procedure for their cat .

They also run a routine discounted desexing program for dogs and cats in the Tūrangi area funded by the Pelorus Trust; last year 37 dogs and 272 cats were prevented from having unwanted litters due to the procedure.

The tidal wave of unwanted pets is still coming, he said, so there’s no time to be complacent.

“In November, I gave up 70 puppies. I just couldn’t find a home for them.

“This is unprecedented; this has never happened before.”

However, the desexing program’s goal of reducing the number of animals coming to the shelter was not for Lewis to hang his hat on, although he retired at first before moving to New Zealand in 2003.

Instead, she wants to stay focused on animals and her community, offering support and training to the public to help them with their pets.

“The goal is not to have too many animals in need so we can offer other services.”

In general, Lewis says, desexing pets makes for happier pets and owners.

“Your cat can become pregnant and have her first litter at just four to five months of age.

“Your male kitten will start fathering litters around the same age, and after a few months will be a smelly, cat-spraying cat.

“Desexing your cats allows them to live healthier, better lives without the vet bills that come with fighting for territory or mates.

“Do the right thing; we can help.”

Milly Fullick is a journalist based in Taupō. He joined the Taupō and Tūrangi Herald team in 2022.

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