Companion Animal Industry Rallies Together to Identify & Register Cats
2011 is declared ‘The Year of the Cat and Sept. 23 – Oct. 2 — National Cat ID Week focusing on permanent identification, licensing and registration
The 2011 Year of the Cat initiative continues to gather momentum. This Canada-wide initiative created by Care for Cats is a long-term project that will increase the value of owned, homeless and feral cats in Canadian communities. Care for Cats has announced that September 23 – Oct 2 is National Cat ID Week! Key community collaborators will be delivering identification clinics and drives to register felines across Canada.
“Many people do not realize it but a lost cat has a very small chance to return back home safely. This does not have to be the case considering we have the tools and the solutions; we simply must work together to create healthier communities for cats and people. A very high number of cats are not identified and/or registered and this results in a huge burden on animal shelters, municipalities and communities – Canada is in crisis,” explains Dr. O’Brien. “The nation’s animal shelters are over overflowing with cats. By focusing on identifying and registering felines we will increase their chances to get back home should they go missing.”
Care for Cats has built its public educational campaign based on solid facts. The 2008 Business of Urban Animals Survey (BUAS), commissioned by PetLynx Corporation for the International Summit for Urban Animal Strategies, provided statistical proof of what people working in animal shelters and veterinary hospitals have known for decades: cats are not generally valued as much as dogs. In almost every category covered by this survey, dogs received better care than cats.
The study revealed that more than 8.5 million cats are warming the sofas of 36 per cent of Canadian households. The disappointing news is that half of them did not receive regular veterinary care in the past 12 months and less than 25 per cent have permanent identification, such as tattoos or microchips. Forty-one per cent either haven’t been vaccinated in the last four years or have never been vaccinated at all.
___________________________________________________FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Dr. Liz O’Brien, Care for Cats Committee Chair (p) 905.570.4145 (e) drliz@careforcats.ca
CARE FOR CATS ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS
ANIMAL WELARE
- Canadian Federation of Humane Societies
- Ontario SPCA
- SCAT Street Cat Rescue Program, Saskatoon, SK
- PetSmart Charities Canada
- Pierre's Alley Cat Society, Halifax, NS
- Calgary Humane Society, Calgary, AB
- Meow Foundation, Calgary, AB
ANIMAL CONTROL & LEGISLATIVE ENFORCEMENT
- City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services
- Toronto Animal Services
ANIMAL HEALTH & WELLNESS
- Canadian Veterinary Medical Association
- The Cat Clinic, Hamilton, ON
- Diane Frank DVM, DABVB, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC
- Hugh Chisolm DVM, Halifax, NS
- Liz O’Brien DVM, Diplomate, ABVP (Feline Practice), Hamilton, ON
- Margie Scherk DVM, Diplomate, ABVP (Feline Practice), Vancouver, BC
- Susan Little DVM, Diplomate, ABVP (Feline Practice), Ottawa, ON
- Diane McKelvey DVM, Diplomate, ABVP (Feline Practice), Kamloops, BC
- Alice Crook, DVM, Atlantic Veterinary College, Charlottetown, PEI
- Anne Marie Carey, DVM, Atlantic Veterinary College, Charlottetown, PEI
ANIMAL SERVICES
- Canadian Cat Association
- Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) Canada
- Petsecure, Western Financial Insurance
- PetLynx Corporation
ABOUT CARE FOR CATS AND YEAR OF THE CAT
Care for Cats (CFC) is a long-term project that will increase the value of owned, homeless and feral cars in Canadian communalities. CFC has a model of ‘free of charge’ distribution of impactful public education programs and support materials that can be used by anyone working in the companion animal industry, including shelters and rescue organization, municipalities, pet stores, veterinarians and more. One purpose of the initiative is to encourage community collaboration across all industry sectors; providing accurate resources; and the collection and evaluation of national metrics to measure success. http://www.careforcats.ca
CFC is organized under the direction of volunteer Advisory Council with representatives from all four sectors of the companion animal industry. (See below.) It is being supported by Petsecure Pet Insurance, PetSmart Charities Canada, Ontario SPCA, Boerhringer Ingelheim, Iams Canada and PetLynx Corporation.
2011 Year of the Cat (YOC) is a Canada-wide initiative intended to ‘get rid of the myths and give the facts!’ This program will bring a national time-line of events such as adopt-a-thons and an identification week. To facilitate the effective delivery of these programs online toolkits will be provided at no cost to community collaborators across Canada.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL SUMMITS FOR URBAN ANIMAL STRATEGIES
The International Summit for Urban Animal Strategies [ISUAS] attracts Executive Thought Leaders from North America’s Companion Animal Industry to develop strategies that will create and sustain healthy communities for pets and people. Executive level discussion, networking and world-class speakers facilitate the executive working sessions. The Annual Summit Awards are presented in conjunction with the Alumni Summit each October and bestow the recognition of industry peers upon individuals and organizations who are achieving success in each summit award category.
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