To promote the necessity of sterilising pets, Animal Aid Warriors embarked on a major mission recently to sterilise 28 cats in total – 17 were female and 11 of them male.
They partnered with Kameelstraat Veterinary Hospital’s Dr Leandri Klopper and her crew, Dr Caroline Brits, Nadine Brits, Alida Potts, Ria Pots, Sunica van Wyk, Megan Schutte and Conrad Cloete.
Animal Aid Warriors founder Naomi de Beer explained not only were cats sterilised, but some of the owners decided to also vaccinate, deworm and microchip their pets.
“Randfontein itself has a major issue concerning animals. So many pets end up in the shelter or on the street. Adoption rates are exceptionally lower than intake rates. By sterilising these animals we can stop the intake rate,” Naomi expressed.
The goal of the sterilisation project was to spread awareness of the scale of reproduction in cats. Naomi explained that adopted cats are almost always given away for free and kept without being sterilised. Since cats are free-roaming animals, they tend to reproduce much faster than other pets, therefore resulting in a large intake of shelter or street animals.
“By sterilising 28 cats we prevented the possibilities of so many litters,” she said.
Naomi claimed that cats can produce about three to six kittens per litter. Mother cats can become pregnant as quickly as two weeks after delivering the previous litter. She also mentioned growing kittens can become pregnant as early as four months old.
“Be a part of the solution and sterilise your cat. Vaccinate your pets. Just as it is important to care for your child, that is how you must care for your pet,” Naomi stated.
Naomi thanked both Kameelstraat Veterinary Hospital as well as the owners who decided to take the responsibility of sterilising their cats.
