It makes my eyes water just thinking about it but, nevertheless, it is very much a necessity as from around the age of 4 months, kittens reach sexual maturity and are therefore capable of breeding and producing kittens themselves.
As nobody wants to add to the number of unwanted cats and kittens already looking for homes, the neutering of a cat, castration in the male, not only prevents unwanted pregnancies occurring, but also curbs unwanted behavioural patterns associated with sexual maturity and reduces the risk of many diseases.
In Torrevieja the process has once again been carried out, following the award of a council grant amounting to 14,000 euro, bringing the number of cats neutered so far this year to 571.
Carmen Morate, the councillor for Animal Welfare, said that “it is estimated that each female can give birth to an average of 4 kittens 2 or 3 times a year. This measure has now prevented the birth of more than 3000 kittens in a single year or up to 18,000 in the next 2 years
The process saw wild cats captured in trap cages, following which they were castrated in a veterinary clinic and then returned to their home colony.
The whole process was carried out and controlled by members of the Proyecto CES gatos Torrevieja, an organisation dedicated to the welfare of cats, details of which can be found on their Facebook page.
