An adoption drive tackling an oversupply of cats north of Bendigo has been extended, with no end-date locked in.
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Echuca’s Campaspe Animal Shelter was at capacity, with fees reduced to $50 to combat the number of lost and surrendered cats coming in.
Shelter operations manager Kate Kemp said the promotion had originally been intended to run through April.
“It has now been extended until we can significantly reduce numbers,” she said.
More than 30 cats had already been adopted through the program but a further 35 were up for adoption, with at least 30 more to go up in the coming weeks.
All cats and kittens were desexed, microchipped and vaccinated. They had been assessed as having good temperaments making them suitable for re-homing.
RSPCA Victoria CEO Liz Walker said spring and summer constituted a “kitten season”, when numbers spiked at shelters.
She said nearly every undesexed female cat exposed to an undesexed male during the warmer months would become pregnant.
“This constant cycle of overpopulation sees many of these unplanned kittens end up in shelters such as ours,” Ms Walker said.
She said that desexing was still the best strategy for breaking the cycle of homelessness many cats experienced.
The RSPCA finished its latest statewide adoption drive last Sunday. It currently had cats available for adoption, including in Bendigo.
Ms Walker said offering a discount was a great incentive for people to meet cats.
“Numerous studies have shown that there is no difference around the care a pet receives whether adopted through a fee-waiver program or for a fee,” she said.
“Our own experience and extensive research shows there is no correlation between discounted adoption fees and return rates.
“We have found the majority of people who adopt during these promotions are already looking for a pet, and a special adoption promotion encourages them to consider adopting from an animal rescue charity, such as RSPCA Victoria.”