The Kelheim district has declared a “cat emergency”. “Wild and homeless cats are increasingly multiplying uncontrollably in the Kelheim district,” the district office announced on Friday. “Hotspots occur regularly across the entire district.”
The head of the veterinary office, Martin Schmid, called on cat owners to have their cats sterilized or castrated if they are “outdoor cats”: “Please have your outdoor cats sterilized or neutered to prevent uncontrolled reproduction.”
According to him, the feral and homeless animals often suffer from diseases such as cat flu or cat disease, from which they sometimes die in agony. Animal aid volunteers have been trying to get the situation under control “and alleviate the suffering of the cats” for “decades.”
But the club’s human and financial resources are limited. “It’s a fight against windmills,” said Monika Pledl, chairwoman of the Kelheim/Abensberg and surrounding area animal aid, according to a statement from the district office. “The situation is tense. More cats mean more misery.” The association spends 250,000 euros a year on sterilizations, castrations and other veterinary costs. “A Bavaria-wide cat protection regulation by the state government would be very welcome and would greatly support our work in animal protection,” emphasized Pledl.
The district is also calling for “a uniform cat protection regulation across Bavaria – or even nationwide”. This would then make it possible to ban or restrict the uncontrolled free roam of reproductive cats in a specified area. In addition, outdoor cats could be identified or registered, according to the veterinary office. District Administrator Martin Neumeyer passed this demand on to the President of the Bavarian District Council.