Summer holiday high season to get rid of cats

Kitten Cat catsKittens. Photo: Pixabay.com

Summer holiday high season to get rid of cats

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority is experiencing an increasing problem that people get rid of their pets, especially animals like cats, obtained with no cost, when going on holiday.

 

– We get calls from people who say, Come get my cat, or I’ll drown it, says General Manager in the Norwegian Animal Protection Society (Dyrebeskyttelsen), Monica Dahlback, to VG.

She responds to people’s way of treating pets during the holidays, especially cats. Some cats are left behind on purpose, maybe with the belief that they will manage on their own, others are left alone at home, some are taken with and disappear there, while others are simply being killed. Pregnant female cats are left behind more often than others.

– We also find kittens left in plastic bags in trash cans, she says

Heidi Bugge, Senior Advisor in the Food Safety Authority confirms that there is an increasing tendency. Across the country there is a growing problem that left behind cats grow up and form colonies of homeless cats, often suffering from hunger and cold.

Cats and Guinea pigs dumped

– As a cat owner, you are responsible for ensuring that your cat is doing well and is taken care of, a cat is not a use and throw away item, she says.

Also other cheap to obtain animals, like guinea pigs, are being dumped.

In 2016, Animal Protection Norway helped about 6,000 animals, and had over NOK 10 million in veterinary costs.

 

Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge, Wikipedia

Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge (“The Norwegian Society for Protection of Animals”) is a charity in Norway that promotes animal welfare.

It was established as Foreningen til Dyrenes Beskyttelse (“Association for Animal Protection”) in 1859.

In 1985 it incorporated Foreningen Dyrenes Beskytter (“Association Animal protector”) (founded 1893) and changed its name to Dyrenes Beskyttelse (“Animal Protection”).

in 1992 it incorporated Norges Dyrevernforbund (“Norways Animal Welfare Association”) and changed its name to Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge (“Animal Protection Norway”) .

Chair of the board is Anne-Lise Skoie Risøen, and the organizational headquarters are in Gamle Oslo.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today