County facing cat crisis as numbers soar

Oct 15 2009 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

CAT welfare experts are urging pet-owners to ensure they get their cats neutered.

Cats Protection West Lothian say the case for neutering moggies is summed up by one young cat’s situation.

Beatha was recently handed over to the group for rehoming with her eight-week-old kitten Louis and her 18-month-old sister Uisge.

Uisge had recently been neutered but not before she had a litter of six kittens in the summer.

And as Louis was now independently feeding, the group booked Beatha at the vets to be neutered, only to be told that she was already five weeks pregnant with her next litter, despite being barely more than a kitten herself.

Beatha’s previous owner was unaware that she could come into season so quickly after giving birth.

Many people believe that a cat cannot become pregnant whilst feeding kittens, but this is not so.

And the group says cats who have recently had kittens should not be allowed to go outside again until she has been spayed.

They say the number of unwanted and abandoned cats and kittens in West Lothian is reaching unmanageably high levels.

Incredibly, just one female cat can go onto produce 20,000 offspring in just five years.

A spokeswoman for Cats Protection West Lothian said: “Beatha will now not be able to rehomed with her sister.

“Instead of being able to enjoy life as a young cat should be, she will now be spending the next four months raising another unwanted litter.

“We are urging people to be a responsible cat owner, keep their nursing cat indoors until she has finished feeding the kittens and get her booked for her spay before letting her outside again.

“If anyone would like more information on neutering their cat or need help with the cost of this, please get in touch with Cats Protection on 0845 371 2719 or via our website at www.cats-westlothian.org.uk”

CAT IN NEED: Cats Protection are urging cat owners to make sure that pets are neutered to prevent them becoming like Beatha (pictured) and having litters of unwanted kittens.