e-4903 (Animals)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• The cat's welfare is directly affected by their overpopulation. As per statistical data of 2022 are about 1.3 to 4 million homeless cats in Canada;
• 2023 shows an increase in abandoned and surrendering of cats due to inflation. A total of 60 % increase since 2020;
• The real number of homeless cats is higher than statistics show due the feral nature of cats;
• 14% of shelter cats were euthanized during 2020;
• Cats are prolific breeders. A single female cat can have 2-3 litters a year with an average of four kittens per litter;
• The climate change, increasing of warmer days, will reflect in even higher number or homeless cats;
• The local control of population of cats will never succeed without a free sterilization national wide program. For any cat in shelter or adopted are much more homeless. The overpopulation, implicit the welfare of cats, is not limited to a province or a city;
• The cat's wellbeing is dramatically increased when cats are sterilized, a) Sterilization prevents unwanted litters and thus reduces the number of abandoned cats, b) Sterilization can also have a positive effect on cats' behavior, reducing runaways, urine marking, fights and thus the risk of communicable diseases, in consequence a decreasing chance of abandon; and
• The homeless cat's overpopulation affect not only the cat's wellbeing but also affect the population of migratory birds.