Cat crisis Figures show cats are the most rescued animal

Cat crisis Figures show cats are the most rescued animal

Cat crisis Figures Greater London and the West Midlands are top choices for cats saved. A group of cat and vet organizations have come together for World Spay Day (February 26), to raise awareness about the cat overpopulation crisis in the UK.

We’re revealing that cats are the most frequently rescued by frontline officers to mark International Day which raises awareness about the importance of neutering our pets.

There aren’t enough homes to house all the homeless cats

2018 saw more than 22,000 feline rescues and more than 150,000 calls to the national control center about cats. That’s 18 calls per hour.

The Cat Population Control Group (CPCG), is asking for kittens to get neutered at four months of age to prevent unplanned litters, and to reduce the number of cats that end up in our care.


Carrie Stones is our Cat Population Control Manager.

Our team receives hundreds of thousands of calls each year about cats, making them the most frequently rescued animal. There is a cat overpopulation crisis in the UK. This is because there are not enough homes for all of the cats that we and other charities have to help. To ensure no unwanted litters, we believe that the solution is to have cats neutered as soon as they are four months old.

London is the winner

We found that Greater London is the city with the highest number of cats saved, with 2,350 cats being taken into our care in the capital last year.

C4 is a Greater London-based neutering program that celebrates its 20th anniversary. It has neutered over 150,000 cats in the last 20 years. That’s more than the entire population of Oxford. Our frontline officers saved 1,887 cats in London.

We rescued more than 1,500 cats in Greater Manchester. Our staff at Greater Manchester Animal Hospital have launched their mobile neutering van, which will be available to cat owners throughout Greater Manchester. This project was funded by Support Adoption for Pets. Pets at Home’s charitable arm, Pets at Home, and the Charitable Trust W.G Harvey’s Discretionary Settlement.

9 percent of cats don’t get neutered

According to the PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report (PAW), 9 percent of cats do not have their neutering done. This equates roughly to 999,000 unneutered cats across the UK.


These are the top reasons to not neuter:

  • It was not something the owner had considered (24%)
  • The cat won’t go outside (15%)
  • They were too young (15%)

The PDSA report last year also revealed that 13% of female cat owners claimed that their cat had at most one litter, and 70% said that their cat’s unplanned pregnancy was not their fault.

The number of litters that are not planned will be significantly reduced if cats are neutered at four months rather than six months. This will help to reduce the number of cats who are homeless.

We are working with other charities in order to combat the problem

We neutered 38.474 cats in 2017, and Cats Protection neutered 153,000 felines.


Jane Clements is the head of neutering at Cats Protection.

Collaboration with CPCG allows charities to collaborate effectively to reduce accidental litters, which is crucial to preventing kittens and cats from ending up in shelters or being adopted on the streets.

Cats Protection also has piloted its stray cat program (Cat Watch), in six regions of the UK. The aim is to estimate the number of strays and work with urban communities in order to improve cat welfare. In 2016, the first Bulwell trial was launched in Nottingham. This work resulted in no homeless kittens being born in Bulwell’s streets in 2018.

Additional Resource:
https://www.royalcanin.com/us/dogs/breeds/breed-library
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/c/dog-breeds
https://www.buyrope.co.uk/dog-breeds-az/