St. John’s, N.L. — All cats at city shelters will be spayed or neutered before being adopted —at no cost to the new owners.
St. John’s City Council recently voted in favour of the practice, noting it will help alleviate the problem of over-capacity of cats at the city’s animal care and adoption centre.
“By including spaying and neutering in the adoption fee, we are hoping to see an increase in adoptions each year and a decreased length of stay for the animals,” Councillor Jamie Korab said.
There will be no increase to the city’s adoption fee — $138 for cats (taxes included).
“A part of our former adoption contract with pet owners was to have their animal spayed or neutered following the adoption,” Korab said. “Unfortunately, many clients did not comply, and we hope this new policy will help reduce the number of unwanted litters and cat population overall.”
The policy for spaying or neutering all shelter cats is in effect immediately.
