World Spay Day is traditionally celebrated on the last Tuesday in February each year.
This year, the Animal Anti-Cruelty League (AACL) in Johannesburg celebrated this day on Tuesday, February 23.
The focus for this year was on feral cats.
The organisation worked with other feral cat volunteers in various communities to assist them with the sterilisation of feral cats.
A number of feral cats from the AACL’s feral cat project were also sterilised on the day.
A total of 38 cats were spayed and neutered for World Spay Day.
Of the 38, two were kennel cats and 36 were feral cats caught overnight.
21 female and 17 male cats were sterilised by AACL veterinary staff.
This means that hundreds of kittens will never be born into a harsh world with little food.
The cats were all healthy and included some young cats but after their sterilisation, Rabies vaccination and left ear tip removed for future easier identification, they slept before their release into their home environments on Wednesday last week.
Sterilisation ensures that feral cats live longer, healthier lives and they assist the community by keeping the rodent population down.
Feral cat colonies become stable once breeding is controlled, which also decreases the pressure on welfare organisations and community volunteers from having to find new homes for litters of kittens.