According to Cats Protection’s CATS Report 2024, more cat owners have been choosing not to neuter their cat in recent years.
This could be bad news for cat rescue organisations, who have seen increasing numbers of abandoned cats and kittens. The charity Cats Protection helps about 500 cats per day and rehomes around 34,000 unwanted cats every year. But waiting lists for cats needing to come into rescue care are rising daily. In the first seven months of 2024, abandonment cases rose by more than 30%. It’s clear the work of rescue charities barely scratches the surface of the huge numbers of unwanted cats in need of new homes across the UK.
Neutering reduces numbers of unwanted cats
During the pandemic, lifestyle changes meant an additional 3.2 million households acquired a pet. However, a return to the office and a cost-of-living crisis meant some owners were faced with having to give up their pet. Since the pandemic, animal welfare charities have been busier than ever, taking in unwanted animals to address what has now become a deepening crisis.
So how can neutering help the situation?
Neutering significantly helps control the cat population by preventing unwanted litters and helps to prevent more cats being born than there are homes available. There are other benefits for your cat too, including reducing roaming and fighting, and decreasing the risk of certain diseases and cancers.
Cats can reproduce at an alarmingly high rate. Females may have up to three litters a year with an average litter size of 4-6 kittens. That’s means one female cat could produce fifteen or more additional cats in need of homes in the space of just one year!
Reduced neutering within the owned cat population has been proven to lead to increased numbers of stray cats, feral cats and cats in shelters.
But it’s not only about pure numbers of cats being neutered. If every cat in the country is neutered, but all have had a litter beforehand, it’s clear that this isn’t going to help much with a cat overpopulation crisis. Timing of neutering is also key.
Neuter your cat at four months of age!
Traditionally both male and female cats have been neutered at six months old. However, there is a strong case for neutering earlier. For female cats especially, it is important to neuter before they reach puberty and have their first season for population control. As cats can come into their first season from four months of age, it is generally recommended to neuter at this time. Evidence suggests that neutering cats from the age of four months is a safe and effective method of population control and is supported by veterinary organisations like the BVA and BSAVA.
Frustratingly, only 20% of owners in the CATS Report 2024 said that their cat was neutered by four months old. This means that many cats may already have had a litter by the time they are neutered.
So why are more owners choosing not to neuter their cat?
We’ve seen how timely neutering can help shelters tackle the crisis of unwanted cats. But getting back to the question at hand, why are more people choosing not to neuter their cat?
The CATS Report 2024 identified that younger cat owners aged 18-34 are less likely to have neutered their cat (77%). This compares 86% of 35 to 54-year-olds and 95% of those aged over 55.
The CATS Report 2024 found that the main reason why owners do not neuter their cat is that their cat does not go outside. However, accidents do happen and determined cats in heat will stop at nothing to access the outdoors. It’s recommended that even indoor-only cats are neutered, for their own health and welfare and to prevent accidental litters.
Worryingly for the cat population crisis, owners are increasing citing a desire for their cat to have kittens. Wanting their cat to have kittens is now the second most common reason why owners are not neutering their cat.
Evidence from the CATS Report 2024 suggests people don’t seem to be selling these intentionally bred kittens. They may have wanted to breed their cat purely as a hobby, or they may have been looking to make a profit. But the reality is only 36% of these kittens end up being sold, with the majority either given away or relinquished to a rescue charity.
Perhaps this change in attitude towards neutering can be explained by a rise in pedigree cat popularity
The report found that more people than ever are purchasing pedigree cats. For the first time, more pedigrees were acquired in the twelve months leading up to the report than moggies. Pedigree cats were found to be particularly popular with the younger generation of cat owners. Younger, more affluent, pedigree cat owners were found to be least likely to neuter their cat.
Many pedigree cat owners prefer to keep their cat indoors because they believe them to be more at risk outside compared to a non-pedigree cat. Those owners who don’t neuter their cat because they are indoor-only could fall within this category of pedigree cat owners.
The decline in neutering rates seems to be happening alongside a rise in pedigree cat owners, and it’s hard to see how the two are not somehow connected.
One piece of good news is that cost does not seem to factor highly in an owner’s decision of whether to neuter their cat. With growing criticism of vet fees in the media linked to the recent CMA report, it is a relief to see evidence that neutering appears to be affordable for the majority of cat owners.
Still, it is a huge concern that neutering rates are in decline
We have evidence from the animal rescue sector that there are far more unwanted cats than there are homes willing to take them in. Unwanted cats suffer. They may find themselves on the street, hungry, and without medical care. If they are lucky, they may find one of the few places available in a rescue shelter. But life in a rescue shelter is not without its challenges for a cat either.
Please consider this bigger picture and remember – a decision not to neuter your cat has a bigger impact than you may think.
Further Reading
What is kitten neutering, and is it fair?
Discussion
If you read this report it doesn’t ring true to me, Where on earth are you getting this information from ? “Cost of neutering does not affect people getting their cats neutered?? “It’s always people in deprived areas not neutering. So many people are asking for help with neutering fees. I’ve been involved in rescue many years it’s always in the poor areas people don’t neuter I’d like to know the source of this info.
From Sarah:
The information comes from Cats Protection’s ‘Cats and Their Stats’ Report (CATS Report) 2024. The report is based on an annual survey conducted by an independent agency. The survey included a sample of 3,521 individuals and a boost of 7,001 cat owners, including regional boosts to ensure accurate representation in these areas. Overall, 10,522 people participated in the study; a nationally representative sample of adults in the UK. The report itself and the methodology can be found here cats-report-uk-2024.pdf.
The 2024 report found that the top reasons given for people choosing not to neuter their cat were:
My cat doesn’t go outside 20%
I want my cat to have kittens 15%
I can’t afford it 13% (15% in 2023)
I’ve been meaning to, but haven’t got around to it yet 11%
This report found that cost is becoming less of a barrier to owners neutering their cat. However, cost is certainly still a factor and levels of concern about cost haven’t returned to pre cost-of-living crisis levels (10% in 2022). The other thing to note about this data is the finding that the demographic of cat owners in general in the UK seems to be shifting. A higher proportion of cat owners that acquired a cat in the 12 months preceding the survey were in the more affluent social groups. This trend towards cat owners being more affluent perhaps means that costs is being cited less frequently as a barrier to neutering. Concerns over costs could well be preventing people in less affluent socio-economic groups from acquiring cats though. There will be a lot of regional variation too, and it’s worth noting that the UK CATS Report paints a generalised UK picture. Cats Protection do produce copies of the report according to each devolved nation however, so these may be more reflective of your specific region.
There was some data on this several years ago that suggested that cost wasn’t the blocker, but other intersectional issues such as education and time availability; however, that was pre-Pandemic, and before Cats Protection started rationing their neutering vouchers… I’ve asked Sarah to look into it for you and I’ll update once I hear back from her!