1. WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A CAREGIVER
2. HOW TO REHOME A COMMUNITY ANIMAL
3. ISSUES WITH COMMUNITY ANIMALS

Community animals are a part of our environment. These cats and dogs are either abandoned animals, or the offspring of abandoned animals. The only home that many of these animals have known are the streets and housing estates that they live in.

Often people feel sorry for these animals and wish to give them a home. They believe that the best way to care for them is to remove these animals and have them adopted out. However, community animals are often unadoptable because they are not socialised. Some animals can be re-socialised, especially if they have been recently abandoned. However the vast majority are unsuited to living within a home, and will be unhappy to do so.

The SPCA would love to help all community animals and we do our best to rehome as many as we can. However, with our limited resources and the additional 300 unwanted/abandoned pets we take in monthly, we cannot do so.

This does not mean that these animals have nowhere to go. While caring individuals may feel that living on the streets is not safe or desirable, this is precisely where many of our community animals are happiest.

While it is true that community animals live on average a shorter life than indoor pets (and this is an important reason why you should always keep your pet cats indoors), this does not mean that they do not lead an equally happy existence. In addition, with proper care, community animals can lead long lives on the streets.

Removing community animals also creates what is known as the vacuum effect. Animals are territorial. When the existing group of community animals in an area is removed, new animals will simply move in.

On the other hand, sterilisation will help to stabilise and even decrease the number of animals in the area. They will also be less likely to caterwaul and fight during mating season.

SPCA has always maintained that sterilisation is not only more humane, it is also more effective in the long term in reducing the number of animals, which is better for the community at large.

Sterilisation can reduce the risk of certain cancers and other diseases. Community animals that have been sterilised are easily identified by a tipped left ear.

- Sterilising community animals.

The SPCA has a sterilisation voucher programme for community animals. Please click here for more information.

Cat Welfare Society also has resources to help caregivers who wish to have their community cats sterilised. Please go to http://catwelfare.org/catsnip for more information.

As mentioned earlier, community animals will have their left ear tipped to mark that they are sterilised. Ear tipping is done under anaesthesia. This will ensure that the animal will be easily recognisable as having been sterilised. This can often save the animal's life as unsterilized animals are more likely to be rounded up by town councils and management committees.

- Caring for the animals and monitoring their general health.
Should a community animal need medical attention because it is sick or injured, the best thing a caregiver can do is to take the animal to a private veterinarian as soon as possible. Injured or sick animals often run to hide and it may be difficult to find them at a later time.

The SPCA also has a basic consultation service on Saturdays (by appointment only) for community animals. An appointment can be made at 6287 5355 (between 8 am and 5 pm on Mondays to Fridays) to bring a community animal in for treatment.

We also have an emergency service that attends to injured community animals. However as we are responding to close to 200 emergencies per month involving mainly community animals, it would be impossible to treat every one of them in view of our limited facilities (we do not have hospitalisation facilities) and the prohibitive cost involved.

- Mediating when issues arise in relation to the community animals.
Caregivers often assist town councils, residents committees and management committees in solving issues that may arise in relation to the community animals. Most of these cases involve issues of animal defecation, animals running into homes and litter left behind by feeders who do not clean up. Mediators often meet with the complainants, explain why the animals are there and why they should not be removed, and offer suggestions to help with the issues that complainants have encountered.

In some groups of caregivers, the responsibilities are split up, whereas in other areas, one caregiver may do everything. It is always best to work with a group of caregivers as there may be occasions when another caregiver's help is needed. It is also helpful to show the town council or management committee in your area that there are residents who not only want the animals to remain, but are willing to work with them to ensure that the animals are not removed.