Cat and kitten adoption prices will be reduced at the RSPCA’S Epping Animal Welfare Facility and Petbarn stores in Craigieburn and South Morang this weekend in a bid to ease increasing pressure on the RSPCA’s animal shelters.
RSPCA Victoria will run a ‘CatPacity’ adoption drive on July 30 and 31, with adoption prices for cats and kittens reduced to $29.
Currently operating at capacity, RSPCA Victoria shelters are caring for 1063 animals, including 675 cats and kittens. In comparison, last year at the same time there were 856 animals in care including 405 cats and kittens, and adoptions were booming with people welcoming a new pet into the family during lockdowns, which meant animals were being adopted faster.
RSPCA Victoria is urgently looking for loving furever homes for as many cats and kittens as possible to make way for incoming animals who also require care and rehoming.
RSPCA Victorian rehabilitation and adoption manager Rupert Bake said that online applications for pets have slowed recently, and with the high number of cats in care, this has created additional pressure to find new homes for as many cats as possible.
“We are currently seeing what we believe is a delayed response to the pandemic. We are caring for a high number of animals at the moment, specifically cats, due to a number of reasons including larger numbers of animals surrendered to our Inspectorate and fewer people adopting as they make the most of being able to travel,” Dr Bake said.
“More cats are coming to us through councils and there has been fewer reclaims of lost and straying cats by their owners, which means our capacity to care for more animals is greatly impacted.
“To make sure we can rehabilitate more animals we need people to adopt cats from us.
“If compassionate people adopt a cat from us now, they will be helping that individual animal and helping us care for other animals in need.”
RSPCA Victoria is urging anyone considering cat adoption to make the most of the CatPacity promotion and visit the website to view the cats who are ready to find a new home. While walk-in appointments are welcome, they are subject to availability, so people are encouraged to make an appointment online at rspcavic.org/catpacity.
