GSPCA overwhelmed with cats and dogs

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The Galway Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) has issued a caveat to would-be dog and cat owners to ensure they are in a position to look after a pet before taking on the responsibility.

This comes as local cat and dog pounds are ‘bursting at the seams’, struggling to cope with increasing numbers of ‘unwanted’ pets.

Michelle McCormack, Office Manager at the GSPCA said the scale of the problem was highlighted recently when nine kittens were dumped outside their city office.

“Staff found them at the door when they came in at around 10am. They left them at the offices on St Augustine Street, but the cattery is in Athenry. It’s a very small unit so we’re very limited in what we can take in.

“Those nine kittens were actually from three different litters. Disease control is a huge issue for us so when they came in, they were tested for everything and all tested positive for ringworm and cat flu.

She said every new cat to enter the unit had to go through a period of isolation for up to 21 days, to prevent the spread of disease, and it was only once they were over that would they be vaccinated and neutered, so it all took time.

“It’s an overwhelming task every year to meet the demand and filter all the calls we get because honestly, no matter how much space we had, we’d fill it,” added Ms McCormack.

The dog kennels were at capacity too, she said, and abandoned dogs continued to be an issue.

(Photo: some of the abandoned kittens)
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