AI Article Synopsis
- Free-roaming cats in urban and rural areas cause issues like nuisance behaviors, wildlife threats, and disease risks, while traditional management methods, mainly trapping and euthanizing, have proven costly and ineffective.
- A Community Cat Program in Ipswich, Queensland offered free sterilization, microchipping, and veterinary care, which led to significant reductions in cat intake and euthanasia rates—60% fewer cats taken to shelters and 85% fewer euthanized within three years.
- The study highlights that targeted sterilization programs are effective and humane solutions for managing free-roaming cat populations, promoting both animal and community welfare, but it emphasizes that legislative changes are necessary to sustain such efforts.
Article Abstract
Free-roaming cats in urban and peri-urban areas and in rural towns pose significant challenges due to their nuisance behaviors, threats to wildlife, and potential disease transmission. Traditional management methods often involve trapping and euthanizing many of these cats, which is not only costly but also distressing for the shelter staff involved, and have failed to reduce numbers of impounded cats or cat-related complaints. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a Community Cat Program that provided free sterilization, microchipping, and preventative veterinary care for all owned, semi-owned, and unowned cats in a small rural town with high cat impoundments in Ipswich, Queensland. The program was instigated by the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation in collaboration with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Queensland and the Animal Welfare League, Queensland, and it was funded by various organizations including Fondation Brigitte Bardot. Data from 2017 to 2023 were analyzed to assess the impact of the program on cat intake and outcomes in local shelters. A total of 308 cats were sterilized, representing 94 cats per 1000 residents over 3.4 years, and in the third year, this was associated with a 60% decrease in cat intake, an 85% reduction in numbers euthanized and 39% fewer cat-related calls to the local council. These findings suggest that high-intensity, targeted sterilization programs significantly decrease shelter intake and euthanasia, and thus alleviate the psychological burden on staff. These programs are a humane and effective alternative to traditional cat management, and benefit animal welfare as well as community wellbeing. This is aligned with a One Welfare approach, which enhances the well-being of animals, humans, and their environments. Legislative changes are required to support these programs to effectively decrease the numbers of free-roaming cats in cities and towns and the issues they cause, while protecting human wellbeing.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11545350 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani14213058 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Gait during community ambulation and laboratory-based walking in people with mild traumatic brain injury.
Gait Posture
January 2025
Department of Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States. Electronic address:
Background: Gait impairments are common in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), presenting in the acute phase and often persisting in subtle ways over time. Despite the prominence of laboratory gait evaluations, a comprehensive understanding of gait deficits post-mTBI necessitates the examination of various gait domains in real-world environments. Assessing gait during a community ambulation task (CAT) may capture real-world challenges and influence focused interventions or rehabilitation in individuals with mTBI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRemote monitoring of patients with COPD disease using a tablet system: a randomised crossover study of quality-of-life measurements.
ERJ Open Res
January 2025
Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, COPD Center, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Background: Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has been evaluated in COPD, but with varying results. We aimed to evaluate whether a tablet system that monitors disease-related parameters in patients with COPD could influence physical and mental health-related quality of life, compared with usual care (UC).
Methods: 70 patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) group D COPD (61% women, aged 71±8 years, forced expiratory volume in 1 s % predicted 41±13%, COPD Assessment Test (CAT) 19±7 points) were recruited at the COPD centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, and randomised to a tablet-based RPM system or UC for a 26-week period, after which they crossed over to the alternative management for another 26 weeks.
Risk Factors and Outcomes Associated With Polymicrobial Infection in Community-Acquired Pneumonia.
Arch Bronconeumol
January 2025
Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Ciber de Enfermedades Respiratorias (Ciberes), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:
Background: Polymicrobial pneumonia is a concern for clinicians due to its association with increased disease severity. Determining the prevalence of polymicrobial pneumonia and identifying patients who have an increased risk of this aetiology is important for the management of CAP patients. Here we describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of adult hospitalized patients with CAP, and identify the risk factors related to polymicrobial pneumonia and specifically to 30-day mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDetection of SARS-CoV-2 and a possible variant in shelter cats.
PLoS One
January 2025
Arizona Humane Society, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America.
SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of mild to severe acute respiratory disease that led to significant loss of human lives worldwide between 2019 and 2022. The virus has been detected in various animals including cats and dogs making it a major public health concern and a One Health issue. In this study, conjunctival and pharyngeal swabs (n = 350) and serum samples (n = 350) were collected between July and December 2020 from cats that were housed in an animal shelter and tested for the infection of SARS-CoV-2 using real time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) that targeted the N1 and N2 genes, and a SARS-CoV-2 surrogate virus neutralization Test (sVNT), respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Retrospective analysis of animal-related injuries in 1 266 patients based on the emergency department electronic medical record system].
Zhonghua Wei Zhong Bing Ji Jiu Yi Xue
December 2024
Department of Emergency, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, Jiangsu, China. Corresponding author: Jiang Aihua, Email:
Objective: To analyze the characteristics of animal-related injuries and summarize the epidemiological features of the affected population using the hospital's emergency department electronic medical record system.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, collecting data on animal-related injuries (dogs, cats, rodents, or other animals) as recorded in the outpatient registration system of the emergency department at Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province from October 8, 2022, to October 30, 2023. The study variables encompassed patient demographic characteristics (gender, age, occupation, residence, etc.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!