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A survey of cat shelters in Sweden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

P Eriksson ,
J Loberg  and
M Andersson
P Eriksson
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), PO Box 234, SE-532 23 Skara, Sweden
J Loberg
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), PO Box 234, SE-532 23 Skara, Sweden
M Andersson*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), PO Box 234, SE-532 23 Skara, Sweden
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
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Abstract

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Although cats are extremely common, pet owners seem to have a poor understanding of their natural behaviour and needs and a large number end up in cat shelters. In Sweden, no records exist of the number of cat shelters or their activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of cat shelters in Sweden. We found 62 cat shelters during 2006; the year in which this study was conducted. Questionnaires were sent to these shelters with questions concerning: received animals, reasons for relinquishing cats, cat husbandry and how the shelter was run. The most common reason for relinquishing a cat was that the cat was homeless; another common reason was that the owner had an allergy to cats. The shelters had, on average, space for 29 cats, but this varied from six-to-100, and they received on average ten cats per month. This means that a total of around 7,400 cats enter the 62 shelters in Sweden each year. On average, the cats stayed more than three months in the shelter. Less than 10% of the relinquished cats were euthanised. Our study reveals that there are shelters that continuously receive unwanted cats. The majority of these cats are said to be homeless, therefore in order to minimise the number of cats in shelters in Sweden, the focus should be on reducing the number of homeless cats.

Keywords

animal shelteranimal welfaredomestic catshuman-cat interactionpetsrelinquishment
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , August 2009 , pp. 283 - 288
Copyright
© 2009 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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