THE RSPCA is reminding Coventry residents about the importance of cat neutering following a spate of cat abandonments in the city.
Of the latest incidents, staff were shocked to discover an opened cardboard box outside the entrance to the charity’s Coventry branch on Friday (July 1) morning.
The cat, who has since been named Dora, was dumped at 6am after staff checked CCTV footage from the morning.
Dora managed to escape and was found a week later by a member of the public who saw her running around by a main road nearby to the centre.
Jade Mason, the branch’s cattery supervisor, said staff have been growing increasingly concerned about the number of cats which are being dumped outside the centre.
She said: “Dumping cats puts them in a vulnerable situation.
“It is so important to make sure your cats are neutered because it will put an end to unwanted litters.
“Sadly we do see kittens being abandoned during ‘kitten season’ – this is the time of year when most kittens are born, so we do urge people to do the responsible thing and to get their cats neutered.”
Dora was severely dehydrated, hungry and heavily pregnant when she was eventually brought to the centre a week after being dumped.
She immediately went into foster care where she gave birth shortly after – sadly all her kittens were stillborn, most likely due to the stress of being dumped.
Two other incidents include a young male cat being abandoned outside the centre on Thursday (July 21) – a day where temperatures reached 30c.
He had no food, water and is thought to have been there for three hours.
Furthermore, a female cat – who has been named Mia – was dumped outside the gate in a sellotaped cardboard box which had ‘cat inside’ written in large letters.
Jade added: “She had been shaved all over, apart from on her head and tail, was extremely frightened and riddled with live fleas.
“We looked at the CCTV to find that she had been dumped at 10pm the previous night and she wasn’t found until 8am the following morning.”
If you are interested in re-homing Dora, Mia or Sirius, or any cat from the RSPCA’s Coventry branch, email [email protected] or call 02476 336616.
