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The Victorian Government has committed $300,000 to run a trial program to increase cat desexing rates, address cat over-population and support vulnerable cat owners.

Councils can now apply for grants of up to $25,000 to deliver targeted cat desexing programs within their community.

The focus will be to desex cats for little to no cost, in areas with problem cat populations and cats owned by vulnerable Victorians in these locations.

Executive Director of Animal Welfare Victoria, Dr Trevor Pisciotta, said desexing cats helps reduce the burden of over-population on Victoria’s domestic animal services.

‘Although 95% of registered cats are desexed by the age of two, cats can have multiple litters in this time. This can sadly result in thousands of cats entering the Victorian pound and shelter system each year’, Dr Pisciotta said.

‘Supporting local councils to provide free or low-cost desexing programs will help to manage the overpopulation of cats, while reducing the strain on our state’s animal shelters.’

The program aims to increase cat desexing rates within council, reduce impoundment and euthanasia rates over the next 2 to 5 years, and improve cat welfare and council registration rates.

The council-run programs will focus on people who care for semi-owned and unowned cats and help them take full ownership of these cats. The program will also provide free and low-cost desexing services to cats owned by Victorians who may be experiencing financial hardship in the program’s target areas.

‘One of the main reasons people don’t desex their pets is because they can’t afford it. These grants make cat desexing more accessible for vulnerable community members.’

‘By specifically targeting semi-owned cats and addressing problem cat populations, the program also focuses on a group of cats often overlooked by desexing programs’, Dr Pisciotta said.

Cat management is a significant and complex challenge in Victoria with over 227,000 registered cats and a substantial number of unregistered, unowned, or feral cats in our urban and natural environments.

The Victorian Government invested $1.3 million from the Victorian Budget 2022-23 for 3 cat management initiatives, including this grants program.