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Why
are so many cats in shelters?
--Cat owner education is the key: knowing
what to expect, being prepared and getting involved in your cat's care.
Writer: Ellen Rantz
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University researchers conducted a study on
common factors among owners who gave up their cats for adoption.
Approximately 6 million cats (pets and strays) are brought to shelters
each year, with about two-thirds being euthanized.
The researchers found:
- Cats of owners who had specific expectations about the cat's
behavior that were not met, such as being a companion to a child, were
about 3.5 times more likely to go to a shelter.
- A cat kept outside rather than as a house pet was nearly three times
more likely to end up in a shelter.
- Unsterilized cats were 2.5 times more likely to be relinquished.
- Cats with daily or weekly inappropriate elimination problems were
nearly seven times more likely to be relinquished.
About 36 percent of U.S. households have at least one dog, and
about 30 percent have at least one cat, according to the American
Veterinary Medical Association.
The study was funded by the Ralston Purina Co., two animal-welfare
trust funds, and Purdue's Center for Applied Ethology and Human-Animal
Interaction.
Purdue researchers were Dr. Gary J.
Patronek,
Dr. Lawrence T. Glickman, professor of
veterinary epidemiology and environmental health; Professor Alan M.
Beck, director, Center for Applied Ethology and Human-Animal
Interaction; and George P. McCabe Jr., professor of statistics. Dr.
Carol Ecker, a veterinarian and president of Clayview Animal Clinic
Inc., South Bend, also assisted.
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