Wellington SPCA and other animal welfare organisations spend a huge amount of time and effort trying to find homes for the large numbers of cats brought into their centres each year. But these efforts are often thwarted by the vast number of kittens that also end up in their care. 

However, these kittens are not the litters of house cats. More often than not, they are the offspring of long-term stray cats - the second cousins of lost or abandoned house cats. These stray cats have adapted to outdoor life and developed colonies that centre around areas where food is plentiful, for example around refuse bins in urban areas, or in rural areas with large numbers of rodents.

These strays are wary of people and frequently go unnoticed - until their numbers increase or a litter of kittens is delivered in someone’s garage or under their porch.  Typically, the property owner will then trap the cat and kittens and bring them to an animal welfare centre, where the un-socialised adults will be euthanized and the kittens, where possible, will be socialized and made available for adoption.

While this practice eliminates the visible cats from the territory, it does not solve the problem. Before long, other roaming strays will move in to the area to take advantage of the freed-up food source. They in turn will reproduce and once again, the area will become over-run. 

Trap – Neuter – Return

We know that we can’t entirely eliminate stray cats from an area (no matter how many we remove) but, we can greatly reduce their numbers through a managed Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programme. 

This programme involves trapping and desexing the stray cats and then returning them to their colony so that they can continue to guard their food source – and so deter new roaming cats from moving into the area.

Through this practice, the very cats that are at the root of the over-population problem, can become the solution to it!

How can you be a part of this?

Wellington SPCA, with the support of Wellington City Council, are in the process of setting up a managed cat colony in the Strathmore area.

Step One: desex and microchip all owned cats in the targeted area. Wellington SPCA will be offering discounted desexing to residents. 

Step two: organize a group of concerned residents that is interested in being a part of the programme. The group will need to be dedicated and passionate about supporting a positive solution to stray cat over-population.

If you would like to would like to get involved with this initiative, or would like to receive more information about managed cat colonies, you are invited to call Jo at Wellington SPCA on (04) 389 8044 ext. 810 or email her at jod@wellingtonspca.org.nz

 Thank you.