Alberthsen C, Rand J S, Bennett P C, Paterson M, Lawrie M, Morton J M
The Centre for Companion Animal Health, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
Aust Vet J. 2013 Jan-Feb;91(1-2):35-42. doi: 10.1111/avj.12013. Epub 2013 Jan 21.
A lack of information limits understanding of the excess cat problem and development of effective management strategies. This study describes cats entering Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Queensland shelters and identifies risk factors for euthanasia.
Data for cats entering relevant shelters (July 2006-June 2008) were obtained from the RSPCA's electronic database. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify risk factors for euthanasia.
Of 33,736 cats admitted, 46% were adult cats (≥3 months) and 54% were kittens (<3 months). The most common reason for admission was stray (54%), followed by owner surrender (44%). Euthanasia was the most common outcome (65%), followed by adoption (30%). The odds of euthanasia were lower for kittens and for cats that were desexed prior to admission. Of the strays, 8% had been desexed. For cats of similar age, sex, desexed and feral status, stray cats were more likely to be adopted than owner-surrenders.
Strategies are needed to reduce numbers of cats admitted and euthanased. Given the high proportion of admissions that were kittens, reducing the incidence of delayed sterilisation of owned cats may be an important strategy for reducing the number of unwanted kittens. Many cats admitted as strays were rehomable, but given the high proportion of admissions that are strays, further research on stray populations is needed. Future studies of cats entering shelters would be enhanced if data collection definitions, categories and methods were standardised.
信息匮乏限制了对猫咪数量过剩问题的理解以及有效管理策略的制定。本研究描述了进入昆士兰皇家防止虐待动物协会（RSPCA）庇护所的猫咪情况，并确定了安乐死的风险因素。
从RSPCA的电子数据库中获取2006年7月至2008年6月进入相关庇护所的猫咪数据。进行单变量和多变量逻辑回归分析以确定安乐死的风险因素。
在收容的33736只猫咪中，46%为成年猫（≥3个月），54%为小猫（<3个月）。收容的最常见原因是流浪（54%），其次是主人弃养（44%）。安乐死是最常见的结果（65%），其次是领养（30%）。小猫以及入院前已绝育的猫咪安乐死几率较低。在流浪猫中，8%已绝育。对于年龄、性别、绝育和野性状态相似的猫咪，流浪猫比主人弃养的猫更有可能被领养。
需要采取策略减少收容和安乐死的猫咪数量。鉴于收容的小猫比例很高，减少家猫延迟绝育的发生率可能是减少 unwanted小猫数量的重要策略。许多作为流浪猫收容的猫咪可以重新安置，但鉴于流浪猫在收容中的高比例，需要对流浪猫群体进行进一步研究。如果数据收集的定义、类别和方法标准化，未来对进入庇护所的猫咪的研究将得到加强。
