Free cat desexing offered this month

THE City of Greater Geelong, in partnership with local vets and Geelong Animal Welfare Society (GAWS), will offer discount cat desexing, flea and worming treatments, micro-chipping and registration fees this month.

Now in its fourth year, the successful desexing initiative responds to the problem of unwanted kittens and cats across the municipality, which is placing an enormous burden on GAWS to find homes for the region’s unwanted animals.

One pair of cats can produce up to 132 kittens in a four-year period.

Given cats’ ability to reproduce so quickly and in such high numbers, pet owners are urged to understand the importance having their cats desexed before they face having unwanted kittens at home.

A number of benefits are associated with desexed cats, including that they are less likely to stray from home, reducing their risk of injury, and they have a reduced risk of developing mammary cancer, prostate cancer and other infections, tumours and diseases.

Discounted desexing with micro-chipping, registration and Bayer flea and worming treatments is available at several vet clinics across the city, including:

• Kardinia Veterinary Clinic, 355 Moorabool Street, Geelong
• Highton Veterinary Clinic, 88 Barrabool Road, Highton
• South Valley Veterinary Clinic, 193 South Valley Road, Highton
• Belmont Veterinary Centre, 208 High Street, Belmont
• Geelong Veterinary Hospital, 612 Barwon Heads Road, Marshall, and
• Geelong Animal Welfare Society (GAWS), 325 Portarlington Road, Moolap.

Discounted prices available during July are $125 for females and $95 for males. Prices include worming and flea treatment, micro-chipping, desexing, registration and a free bag of premium Royal Canin cat food.

“We’d encourage cat owners to take advantage of our discounted desexing program in July and help reduce the number of unwanted cats and kittens across Greater Geelong,” city director of planning and development Joanne Van Slageren said.

“A number of vets are also participating this year, making it easy and convenient to locate a discounted desexing service close to home.”