Cat neutering could be the answer to tackling animal hoarding, says a new study
Cat hoarding can be prevented with the right care and population control, according to experts from the University of Nottingham and the RSPCA.
In a new study published in the journal BMC Veterinary Research, experts from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University, worked with the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital to look at whether offering people who owned multiple cats the opportunity to have their female cats neutered, would improve the welfare of the animals.
Cat ownership is popular in the UK, with one or two cats being common in many households. However, owning more than two cats is less common. Whilst it is possible for houses with larger numbers of cats to manage them successfully, this is not always the case, and while the exact relationship between owning large number of cats and hoarding is unclear, evidence suggests there is a strong link.
Thousands of injured, stray and abandoned cats are received by the RSPCA Greater Manchester every year. A significant proportion of these cats in multi-cat households have to be signed over to the RSPCA due to the owners’ inability to care for them and subsequent health concerns.
The general definition of animal hoarding includes the accumulation of a large number of animals; failure to provide minimum care standards such as food, sanitation and vet care; and the failure to respond to the deteriorating condition of animals or the environment around them.
Hoarded animals are typically found in conditions of squalor, malnutrition and neglect, with evidence of inbreeding, poor socialisation and high rates of infectious disease. Hoarding has been recognised as a type of mental illness, although underlying causes have not been fully identified [1].
Previous approaches to hoarding usually involve confiscating all of the affected animals. This virtually always leads to repeated occurrences of hoarding within the same households, making this problem particularly difficult to address.
The aim of this study was to trial an alternate form of intervention in cases of cat ‘hoarding’, to determine if offering female cat neutering assistance to the owners would improve the welfare of the cats and conditions in the home.
A total of 176 cats from ten multi-cat households with a history of complaints to the RSPCA were recruited for the study. An RSPCA veterinary surgeon initially assessed the overall welfare of each of the household’s cat population, individual cat welfare and living environment.
All female cats aged over eight weeks were neutered and basic animal care education was provided to the owners. Follow-up visits were completed two and 12 months later to reassess welfare factors and population numbers.
At the initial visit, the average welfare scores ranged from 5.4-8.7, where 16 represented the best possible welfare. The overall scores significantly improved at both the two and 12 month revisits. By the end of the study period, three out of the ten households had voluntary given up all of their cats, and overall there was a 40% reduction in the number of cats.
Jenny Stavisky from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University was one of the lead authors of the study, she said: “Animal hoarding has previously been an unmanageable welfare concern with no evidence to back up intervention techniques. Our results show that with engagement from vets and preventative care and population control, we can significantly improve the welfare of these animals in relatively short timescales.”
“We are looking to expand this work to other areas of the country and also work in partnership with RSPCA Branches, other cat welfare organisations, Universities and human mental health experts.”
A full copy of the report can be found here.
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