Got the new CP Supporters Mag last night and this article was in it:
According to a recent survey and for the second year running, cats are the most abandoned pet in the UK. Whether they are unwanted presents, the result of unplanned litters or just no longer loved, many cats are simply left out like rubbish.
In Feb of last year, five week old PEbbles was left in a cardboard box at the foot of a tower block for refuse collection workers to take away. Were it not for the intervention of an eagle-eyed passer by, the poor kitten would almost certainly have been thrown into the rubbish crusher or frozen to death.
Happily, Pebbles was taken in by CP and rehomed with a loving family, but not all stories of abandoned cats and kittens end like this. just a few weeks before PEbbles was found, an oil-covered kitten was discovered under a hedge near Wigan on Christmas Eve. The help of a vet was immediately sought but sadly, the kitten was too weak to survive the ordeal.
Under the ANimal Welfare ACt 2006, anyone found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal could face six months in prison and/or a fine of £20,000. It remains to be seen whether this will deter the thousands of peope who abandon cats every year. It is a common misconception that domesticated cats can fend for themselves if left to their own devices. But being discarded causes considerable distress and suffering and the truth is, without help, many do not survive.
CP will soon be launching a new television campain and direct mail appeal aimed at highlighting the issue of abandonment. Look out for these at the end of November, and help us make 'disposable' cats a thing of the past.
There was also an article about KittenAid 2007, a campaign to raise funds to help cope with the influx of kittens and to spread the message about the importance of neutering. This has raised £260,000 and has also been on the news - I haven't heard anything about it, does anyone else know about it?
