Australian Pet Welfare Foundation

11/06/2026

Your support makes real change possible.

Through APWF’s Community Cat Program, more than 5,000 cats and kittens have been desexed and microchipped.

Our research has shown that this practical, community-based approach works:
• shelter intakes have dropped by 60%
• euthanasia has reduced by more than 80%
• free-roaming cat numbers have decreased by 33%

These outcomes mean fewer animals entering shelters, fewer healthy animals losing their lives, and better outcomes for pets, people, communities and wildlife.

Please donate before 30 June to help us continue this life-saving work.
https://petwelfare.org.au/eofy

10/06/2026

Professor Jacquie Rand's AVA Conference talk is now available to watch.

Rethinking urban cat management: evidence, wildlife and veterinary wellbeing looks at what happens when councils keep relying on trapping, impounding and euthanasia to deal with free-roaming cats.

It asks a hard question. Are we reducing cat numbers, or are we leaving the breeding cats where they are and asking vets and shelter teams to keep dealing with the kittens?

That is the part people do not always want to talk about.

Community Cat Programs take a different path. They provide targeted desexing, microchipping and practical support in the suburbs where cats are most likely to end up in pounds and shelters.

This protects cats, people, wildlife and the veterinary teams carrying the end of the system.

Watch the talk here: https://youtu.be/XMA9Ao4Y8SU
Learn more: https://petwelfare.org.au/community-cat-programs

Please share this with someone who works with cats, councils, shelters or veterinary teams.

Listen to Professor Rand's talk Rethinking urban cat management: ev...

09/06/2026

Most people don’t surrender pets because they don’t care.

They do it because rent goes up. Vet bills hit. Life changes.

This blog looks at why support, compassion and practical help achieve better outcomes than shame or punishment ever will.

If we want fewer animals entering shelters, we need to support the people trying to keep them.

Read more:
https://petwelfare.org.au/blog/keeping-pets-at-home-why-helping-people-works-better-than-pointing-fingers

08/06/2026

Stray cats are not the same as feral. The distinction matters.

A feral cat lives independently in the wild. A stray cat is often living in our suburbs, behind shops, around homes, in industrial areas, or being fed by someone who is trying to help. If we treat every cat the same, we will keep choosing the wrong solutions.

Professor Jacquie Rand spoke with ABC Sydney about the growing stray cat issue in Newcastle, NSW and across Australia, and what actually needs to change.

Cat containment can help owned cats stay safe. But many free-roaming cats do not have an owner who can contain them. And for many families, the cost of desexing, vet care and containment is simply out of reach.

That is where community cat desexing programs make the difference. Instead of waiting until kittens are born, shelters are full, rescuers are exhausted, and councils have nowhere to turn, we can act earlier.

We can identify the areas where the problem is greatest, work with the people already feeding and caring for cats, provide free and low-cost desexing, and stop the breeding cycle before more cats and kittens suffer and negatively impact human wellbeing.

This is how we reduce shelter pressure. This is how we support communities. This is how we protect wildlife in a practical way.

The answer is not blame. The answer is targeted, data-driven action.

Listen to Jacquie’s interview here: https://petwelfare.org.au/media/stray-cats-in-nsw

07/06/2026

We’re proud to share a new paper by APWF Policy Advisor Jenny Cotterell and Chief Scientist Emeritus Professor Jacquie Rand. Community Cat Programs in Australia – A Humane, Evidence-Based Approach to Cat Management has been published in Animal Behaviour and Welfare Cases.

This paper says what people working on the ground have known for a long time. Catching cats, putting them in pounds, and killing the ones who are frightened has not fixed cat overpopulation. It has filled shelters. It has put staff through awful decisions. It has hurt carers and communities. And it has left the real problem untouched — cats keep breeding because people still cannot access affordable desexing, microchipping and support.

Community Cat Programs deal with the source. They desex cats. They microchip them. They support owners and carers. They rehome kittens and social cats. They return healthy cats when that is the safest option. They create working cat pathways for healthy cats who are not suited to a normal home.

The results are already there.

In one Australian program, cat intake fell by 60%, euthanasia fell by 85%, and complaints fell by 39% in 3.5 years. In another, shelter intake fell by 66%, euthanasia by 82%, and cat-related calls by 51%. This is what happens when cat management is built around evidence, prevention and the people already caring for these cats. This is the future of urban cat management in Australia.

Read the paper here: https://petwelfare.org.au/publications/urban-cat-management (Email us for a PDF copy if you don't have a subscription E: [email protected])

02/06/2026

Our Tax Appeal is now open. Across Australia, thousands of cats and dogs continue to enter pounds, shelters and vet clinics each year.

Many are healthy. Many are loved. But when shelters are full and families cannot access help in time, too many animals remain at risk of unnecessary euthanasia.
At APWF, we know there is a kinder and more effective way.

Your tax-deductible gift before 30 June helps fund practical solutions that keep pets with the people who care for them, reduce pressure on shelters, and prevent unnecessary euthanasia.

Please donate before 30 June and help save more lives.

DONATE NOW: https://bit.ly/3Q2dFcX

01/06/2026

For many families, love is not the problem.

Access to affordable veterinary care is.

When people cannot access the help they need, pets can end up in shelters or vet clinics at crisis point. That is why APWF continues to advocate for practical solutions such as targeted desexing, affordable veterinary care, and a government-supported Veticare system.

Supporting pets means supporting people too. Learn more about our advocacy work:
https://petwelfare.org.au/government-submissions/western-australia

31/05/2026

Tomorrow marks the beginning of June – an important month for charities like ours.

At APWF, every donation helps fund the research, advocacy and community programs needed to prevent unnecessary euthanasia and keep pets with the people who care for them.

This June, we will be sharing more about the work your support makes possible.
As we head into the end of the financial year, please consider supporting our life-saving work.

Donations over $2 are tax-deductible.
https://petwelfare.org.au/eofy

26/05/2026

Pets see us at our best and worst.

They sit beside us through grief, stress, loneliness, celebrations, breakups and ordinary Tuesday afternoons.

This blog explores why animals become such important parts of our emotional lives — and why losing access to that connection can affect people so deeply.

Read more:
https://petwelfare.org.au/blog/why-pets-mean-so-much-to-us-(and-why-they-know-all-your-secrets)

24/05/2026

How we treat cats says a lot about the kind of community we want to be.

Thank you to Ashley from Dandenong Foothills for this thoughtful article in . It asks us to look past simple slogans and think about what cat policies mean for real animals and real people.

Too often, cat management starts with punishment. Fines. Restrictions. Blame.

But that does not stop kittens being born. It does not help overwhelmed shelters. It does not support the people already feeding, desexing and caring for cats with nowhere else to go.

We need to start earlier.

That means targeted desexing. Microchipping. Support for owners and semi-owners. Community Cat Programs that reduce shelter intake and euthanasia without turning compassion into a problem.

Please read the article, leave a comment and share it with someone who cares about kinder, fairer cat management.

Read it here:
https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/how-we-treat-cats-shows-the-health-of-a-nation,20985

More APWF media and articles:
https://petwelfare.org.au/media