My Cat doesn't match my Carpet

The number pf pets being abandoned in the UK has reached epidemic levels with figures increasing by up to 25% in a year. This figure has prompted some observers to speculate that pets are the latest victims of our increasingly throwaway society.

Figures from the RSPCA show that half of the 7,347 animals retrieved from streets last year were cats. This is more worrying, according to the RSPCA, because cats have been traditionally regarded as easy to care for compared to dogs. There are 9 million households owning cats in the UK compared to 6.5 million with dogs.

The RSPCA is concerned that pet owners are giving up their pets for the most bizarre reasons. One owner told an RSPCA inspector 'My cat doesn't match my new carpet'. The report also says that dogs and rabbits are also being discarded by owners - with these animals being routinely abandoned when owners go on holiday. Pets are often turned out onto the streets during holidays instead of catteries or kennels - withb owners trying to reclaim them after their holidays on occasions. In 2008, the RSPCA has rescued 2,621 animals from the streets.

Some pet owners' cruelty is beyond belief. A litter of kittens was recovered from a refuse bag in London and a rabbit was discovered in a cardboard box in a crushing machine at a recycling centre in Northallerton. Other findings include a puppy in an empty chocolate box in Orpington and 5 hamsters, of which 2 were dead, in a plastic tub by a roadside in Southampton.

The RSPCA rescued nearly 150,000 animals in 2007 with farm animal rescues up also by 96%. This figure includes 40,910 wild birds rescued in 2007 - even though that was down on the 2007 figure.

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© Copyright Pet Health Insurance, April 2008

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