New data reveals trend in rehoming showing that over six years June is consistently the most difficult month for cats to find a new home.
As the summer ‘kitten season’ starts, more cats then ever are said to be looking for new homes, but the RSPCA reports that its rehoming rates are at their lowest in June.
Over the last six years, each January the RSPCA typically take in between 500 to 750 cats and rehome between 500 and 600 that same month.
However, over the same period in June, the animal welfare charity said they typically take in 850 to 1000 cats and yet only rehome 300 to 400 that month on average.
The figures reveal that at a time when the charity is seeing huge numbers of cats and kittens coming in, fewer people are coming forward to offer them homes, putting huge pressures on rehoming centres.
Experts at the RSPCA calculated a month-by-month percentage which showed in January 2016 83.4% of cast were rehomed compared to 41.5% in June of the same year. In January 2017 95.2% of cats found their forever homes, however In June 2017 only 45.3% were rehomed.
The RPSCA suspects that the drop in rehoming rates is party down to the corresponding rise in kittens being advertised online in the summer months and urges animal lovers to adopt not shop.
Dr Jane Tyson, RSPCA companion animal expert said: “These figures show a shocking trend in the RSPCA’s cat rehoming. In June the RSPCA is left with hundreds of cats still in need of a forever home.
“It can be a vicious cycle because people who are taking on readily available pets online or from friends and family don’t necessarily go through the rehoming process and therefore may not always realise the responsibility involved. We would always urge anyone thinking of getting a cat to consider whether they can give an animal love and attention for the next 14 years.”
To see the RSPCA cat currently looking for new home visit: www.rspca.org.uk/findapet
