Cat welfare
Sterilisation is the only humane and effective way of reducing and controlling large populations of stray cats. International Animal Rescue’s vets in India and Indonesia routinely sterilise stray cats at our clinics. A team from Catastrophes Cat Rescue in the UK also conducts sterilisation trips for us in Spain and other parts of Europe, intensively trapping and sterilising communities of feral cats and giving them treatment for injuries and illness.
How it works
Liz Varney, Catastrophes' Executive Director, leads the team of volunteers which includes a vet, vet nurses and experienced trappers. They are often invited to an area by local residents concerned by growing numbers of feral cats. Large communities of stray cats can be a nuisance to people. They themselves also suffer from a lack of food, untreated wounds and injuries leading to infection and slow and painful deaths, and countless unwanted kittens born to females that are too weak and malnourished to feed them.
The sterilisation team travels to Spain each year to regulate communities of cats in and around Torrevieja. They work closely with Street Cats, a local group run by Jim and Gwen Harrower. Together they are able to trap, sterilise and release nearly 200 cats in just one week, ensuring that populations remain stable and healthy.
Sterilisation trips are only possible with the support of local people who appreciate the difference we can make to the animals' lives. We also rely on cooperation from the relevant government authorities in granting permits so our team can work in the country. We hope in future also to visit Malta to tackle the problem of growing populations of stray cats on the island.