Kathleen Young helped establish the Ōpōtiki Society for the Care of Animals (OSCA) in 2018, after SPCA closed in town. She and her colleagues knew that animal welfare needed a day-to-day face, hence the animal rescue and rehoming facility, OSCA was formed.

The SPCA closed and OSCA opened the next day, with Ms Young knowing the scope of the challenge. She had managed SPCA Centre since 2005 and worked as SPCA inspector for eight years.

OSCA has taken the lead in helping pet owners through subsidised desexing, totalling 1060 cats under the OSCA banner.

“De-sexing provides the best answer to the overpopulation of household pets. Uncontrolled breeding is almost always at the root of the neglect and suffering experienced by some cats and dogs,” Ms Young said.

Within tight resources, OSCA has also funded some desexing of dogs, having completed six dog desexing projects, totalling 215 dogs since 2022.

Statistically, populations of abandoned kittens become semi-wild in town, while any who survive being dumped in conservation areas will grow up as predators, likely to threaten the native birds and invertebrates.  

“Unwanted puppies become neglected by owners who either can’t afford to or can’t be bothered to care for them. Hence we have the heart-rending sight of neglected dogs wandering the streets, starving in plain sight or acting aggressively toward people and become a problem to local animal control and other rescues.”

As Ms Young sees it, timely desexing helps to keep a lid on these problems but the pressure must be maintained. Particularly where cats are concerned, letting up even for a few months would see the population of unwanted cats grow exponentially.

“Desexing, speying or castration whichever name is used brings a healthier cat. It will stay home so it’s not wandering or annoying the neighbours. A female is never going to produce kittens again and generally will live longer. Desexing reduces fighting in males and reduces an array of reproductive cancers and diseases in females as well as males.”

Though Ōpōtiki District Council does not require it, microchipping of cats is recommended. Microchipping has been mandatory for dogs since 2006.

“We’ve just done our budget for 10 months, showing expenses of $64,000 and income of $57,000.

“It’s a bit of a shortfall, but we do have some money in the account. This month we will have a very big vet bill because we have been targeting desexing, as pregnant cats are now starting to drop kittens.

“Our first 12- to 14-day-old kittens were recently found abandoned in a local park. Kittens this young become a heavy load on resources and time due to the care needed to make them survive and get them through to homing.

“Unfortunately, vet costs are going up all the time, which is no fault of the vet clinic because everything is going up in price. We have tried to keep our desexing rate steady and offering a generous discount year-round.”

People contribute $85 to us too for a female cat – $100 if they already know that it is pregnant – and $60 for a male. Dog desexing costs go by weight: Under 6kg is $450; 6-15kg is $475; if your dog is 35-5 kg it’s around $575.

“We offer year-round our own discounted contribution, which is reasonable compared to the actual vet cost.  For example, we ask for an owner contribution of $85 for a female cat and $60 for a male.

People can donate directly to OSCA’s bank account or vet account and the organisation welcomes bequests.

Rehoming cats is an ongoing challenge. Many cats are rescued and brought to the OSCA shelter at 1/3 St John Street. If the cat is in poor shape the aim is to get it healthy enough to be desexed, vaccinated and microchipped – then to find it a new home.

“Quite a bit of thought goes into trying to match the right cat with the right owner, obviously it’s a lot more work if the match does not work out.

“Recently we had a lady who was leaving her job and moving out of town, unable to take her cat along. We knew of a Whakatāne couple who wanted an affectionate female cat, like this one, and the match worked perfectly.

“Dogs are quite a hard area of welfare because they come under legislation which we must meet. Cats have no legislation (controlling their care) in local government which makes things easier, so we focus on cats and try to be a voice for them. We are never going to alter the country as a whole, but we can concentrate on our patch.”

Cats are not abused as dogs are; they have their own minds and are freer spirited.

Their problem is overpopulation, and Ōpōtiki would soon be overrun without dealing with this.

“We don’t house dogs. The council pound is across the roads from us, though we offer dog-subsidised desexing. I’m constantly applying for funding to do that because dogs are three-to-four times more expensive to de-sex than cats.”

Pet ownership comes at a cost

New Zealand has a very high rate of cat ownership, with approximately 40-44 percent of households owning at least one cat, making it one of the highest rates in the world.

The cost of owning a cat varies, but you can expect annual costs of $400-$1200 for food and $150-$300 for vet care including vaccinations. Initial costs like adoption, desexing, and microchipping can add several hundred dollars to the first year’s expenses.  

This country also has one of the highest rates of dog ownership in the world. Around 31 percent to 34 percent of New Zealand households have a dog.

The average annual cost of owning a dog here is around $1686, though significantly higher in the first year due to initial setup costs like adoption fees and essential supplies.

Ongoing annual costs include food, vet visits, vaccinations, and registration fees, with potential for much higher expenses due to unexpected medical emergencies.

The lifetime cost can exceed $22,000 over an average lifespan of 14 years.

Black cat promotion

OSCA recently concluded a promotion offering free sterilisation for black cats.

As black cats tend to be harder to house due to superstition, they come in for a bit more attention from the organisation.

“I like black cats as they tend to be very affectionate and there is nothing wrong with them. In some European folklore, black cats were considered common companions of witches and bringers of misfortune if they crossed your path. But Welsh folklore said they would bring luck to a home and even be reliable weather predictors.

“I tend to agree with Groucho Marx: “A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere.

“In fact, in this era of high UV light black cats have an advantage over white ones with pink noses as they have more resistance to damage from sunlight.”