Call to stop dumping cats

CAT CRISIS: Millie was among kittens dumped on the Shore this Christmas.

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A huge influx in the number of abandoned kittens and cats on the Shore is prompting a call for the problem to be tackled.

Since October North Shore cat rescue group Forgotten Felines has rescued more than 100 kittens and cats.

The SPCA is also dealing with a large influx across Auckland.

Among the abandoned pets rescued by the group was a cat found on Christmas Eve dumped in a cat colony in Albany.

The problem is mainly caused by renters abandoning their cats that later become pregnant, says spokeswoman Sylvia Fairburn.

Some people are also dumping pregnant cats, she says.

"It’s as though New Zealand has become a Third World country in the way animals are treated."

Cats as young as five months old can get pregnant if people fail to desex them.

Mrs Fairburn says landlords, including Housing New Zealand, need to enforce any ban they might have on tenants having pets.

Laws also need to be tougher, she says.

Pet shops should not be able to sell animals unless they are desexed, says Mrs Fairburn.

New Zealand also needs to consider Australian legislation that forces owners to register their cats and kept them inside at night.

Rescue societies like Forgotten Felines, Lonely Miaow and the SPCA are picking up the pieces because of lax laws, says Mrs Fairburn.

Mrs Fairburn heads out to cat colonies on the Shore at 5am to check on traps where cats are caught, desexed, vaccinated and where possible given good homes.

"It’s such a lot of work just because someone decided they couldn’t be bothered spending money on a cat they thought was cute as a kitten."

- © Fairfax NZ News