Tag Archives: RSPCA

Do You Need To Neuter Your Pet?

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Tortoiseshell_she-catSpring is here the season of new life, as we all know many animals have babies at this time of year. However, this is not always planned or well received. Many pet owners find themselves responsible for litters of kittens and rabbits unexpectedly. As a result, rescue centres across the UK are struggling to cope with the number of animals in rescue.

67,000 rabbits go into rescue care in the UK each year. Recent figures from the RSPCA revealed that more than 37,000 animals were dumped across England and Wales last year, a rise of 34%, from the previous year*. Burns Pet Nutrition is urging pet owners to ensure they don’t fuel the crisis.

As a nation we need to be responsible for neutering our pets and develop a better understanding of how to manage breeding. Fiona Firth, Head Nutritionist at Burns Pet Nutrition has advice for pet owners on how to take care of their pets and prevent unwanted pregnancies this spring.

Cats

One cat can breed 20,000 descendants in just five years*. Cats Protection neuters 175,000 cats a year but there are still thousands without homes. Your pet cat and any kittens can become pregnant from as young as four months.

The cat breeding season is usually between February and August. If your pet isn’t neutered be aware she will have regular heat cycles when she seeks to attract a mate. Indicative behaviours include, restlessness, an increase in appetite and loud meowing.

Be aware this is her attempt to attract a mate. You may also observe her crouching, pressed
downwards but extending her back. If your cat hasn’t been neutered it may be an idea to keep her indoors to protect her from pregnancy and even diseases from stray Tom cats.

Cats usually experience puberty at around five to eight months but it can happen even earlier depending on the breed of cat. You can neuter both male and female cats from an early age. The vet responsible will advise when they recommend carrying out the neutering operation – usually at around four months of age.

Rabbits

Accidental breeding is one of the main contributing factors to the 67,000 rabbits in rescue. In the first instance, if you are buying two rabbits, be extremely cautious that you have the same sex rabbits. This is a common mistake easy to make.

Like cats, rabbits can breed from a surprisingly young age and can reach sexual maturity between five and eight months of age. A female rabbit can be impregnated again, just hours after giving birth!

This can result in another litter of baby bunnies before the first has even been weaned. A potentially overwhelming situation for your rabbit and you!

Neutering prevents or stops this cycle. This is important to your rabbit’s wellbeing and helps prevent the development of diseases. Spaying is important for your female rabbit in particular, as it reduces the risk of her developing cancer of the womb. Up to 80% of un-neutered female rabbits can develop cancer of the uterus.

Spaying can also assist with your female rabbit’s behaviour as when in heat she may show signs of aggression. Female rabbits can be spayed at around four months of age but again your vet will advise on when to perform the neutering.

Rabbits do like company, beware two rabbits of the same sex (two males) or (two females) will fight if not neutered once their hormones kick in. The best combination for companionship is a male and female pair with both neutered.

For anyone needing assistance, there are friendly pet nutrition advisors who can help select the best diet for their pet contactable via the free-phone number 0800 083 6696.

Fox Survey: Do Brits Love Foxes?

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Earlier this month Channel 4 launched Foxes Live: Wild in the City, an interactive natural history event which put the power into the hands of the viewers. Anyone who owned a smart phone was a potential wildlife photographer and was able to contribute to new natural history research by taking part in the largest ever urban fox survey.

Before the survey, no-one really knew how many urban foxes lived in the UK and what the general public really thought of them. With the last study on urban foxes carried out over 30 years ago, Channel 4 is now able to share brand new wildlife research and information.

Thousands of people took part in the survey sharing their thoughts and opinions on foxes and whether they believed urban foxes lived up to their cunning reputation.

Over 11,500 people completed the survey with a massive 89% of people living in urban areas saying they liked foxes and were in favour of them living in their cities. People who weren’t so keen on foxes were those who encounter them more frequently.

Females liked foxes more than males and those aged 18 and younger preferred them to people aged 18 and above (18-50 age group). Residents in Northern Ireland were the biggest fox lovers (92% liked foxes) and foxes were least liked in London (19% disliked foxes).

On the web site there were 17,532 fox sightings logged in total in the UK. Southern England had the highest frequency of sightings. Over 75% of people in London claimed to see a fox once a week or more.

When it comes to how foxes interact with other animals, 8% of people think that foxes might regularly attack pets but only 5% of people actually reported fox attacks on pets. And foxes may be the surprise victims: people reported they were three times more likely to see foxes being chased, attacked and even killed by pets than the other way round.

Eight out of 10 people agreed that seeing foxes enriched their lives and 36% of people living in urban areas admitting to feeding foxes in their gardens. Less than 1 out of 10 people said foxes should be removed from cities.

Foxes Live: Wild in The City was backed by The RSPCA and featured experts including Dawn Scott, Head of Biology and Biomedical Sciences Division at The University of Brighton. Dawn, who also analysed the online survey results, said ‘This information will provide us with a better understanding of the national distribution of urban foxes and enable us to produce new population estimates. It has also helped us to understand people’s perceptions of both the benefits and issues of living with urban foxes.’