Animals – Unwanted litters

Kitten season usually runs from spring through to early autumn, but preventing unwanted litters starts well before then. Desexing cats early, including strays, rescue cats and young cats before they are old enough to breed, is one of the best ways to reduce the number of unwanted kittens we see each year.

If you aren’t already familiar with it, the SPCA runs a campaign called Snip’n’Chip, which helps people access discounted cat desexing and microchipping. When available, these programmes can make desexing more affordable, especially for households with multiple cats, unexpected litters or strays that have started hanging around. One un-desexed female cat can start a chain of many unwanted kittens, putting extra pressure on rescues, SPCA centres, foster homes, shelters and vet clinics, particularly during kitten season. Along with helping to reduce unwanted litters, desexing and microchipping also have important benefits for welfare, health, behaviour and identification.

Microchipping is an incredibly helpful way to identify cats and return lost animals to their owners. It can also help show whether a cat has already been desexed, which is particularly useful for stray or community cats. However, a microchip is only helpful if the details are registered and kept up-to-date, especially after moving house or changing phone numbers.

Desexing can also have health and behaviour benefits. Entire cats are more likely to roam, which can increase the risk of fighting, abscesses, road accidents and other injuries.

Desexing can reduce behaviours such as roaming, fighting, urine spraying and calling, as well as preventing mating injuries and unwanted pregnancies. In females, it also means no heat cycles and no accidental litters. In males, it removes the risk of them contributing to unplanned pregnancies in the neighbourhood. Desexing can also reduce the risk of some reproductive diseases and cancers.

Wellsford Vet Clinic is a participating clinic for the SPCA Snip ’n’ Chip programme. Voucher availability can vary, so owners can visit the SPCA desexing website to check whether vouchers are currently available in their area. Kittens can generally be desexed from around 1kg, or from about 8 to 12 weeks of age, depending on the individual kitten and clinic guidelines. If you have a young cat, a stray that has adopted you, or a litter of kittens at home, it is worth planning ahead rather than waiting for another unexpected litter.