Spike in demand to care for rescued cats

James Wallace, Alli Cairns, and Vanessa Parton with 5 week old kittens. Picture: Matt Loxton

If you've been planning on bringing a furry friend home for a while, now is a great time to adopt a cat.

Vanessa Parton is president of the Canberra Street Cat Alliance, a rescue organisation that desexes homeless cats to curb overbreeding, and fosters animals that are able to be socialised and adopted.

Ms Parton said the alliance had been inundated with inquiries for adoption during COVID-19. It had changed adoption processes, both to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions and deal with demand.

"We used to offer face-to-face meet and greets. We couldn't do that so we had to go to a heavier screening for prospective families," she said.

"We changed our questionnaire to ask 'Why do you want to get a cat?', 'How long have you wanted a cat specifically?"

However, COVID-19 has led to financial difficulty for rescue organisations like Canberra Street Cat Alliance. The alliance has received support from the Pet Barn Foundation and the Animal Rescue Co-operative, which have donated more than 680 meals to animal rescue groups in the ACT.

Animal Rescue Cooperative ACT program manager Alli Cairns said COVID-19 continued to be an uncertain time and pet rescue groups across the capital were feeling the strain. Ms Parton said the assistance was particularly helpful for volunteer foster carers who paid for food at their own expense.

Petbarn Tuggeranong store manager James Wallace said the campaign helped cut waste from damaged packaging.

"[If food packaging is damaged] we're allowed to call up and move it on to Canberra Street Cat Alliance, and we're able to rehome that food which would go waste," he said.

Ms Parton said working from home was a good opportunity to settle a cat into your household.

"[Working from home] is great initially but it's not an ongoing need for someone to be home with the animal," she said. "Cats are so resilient, and likely will curl up when you go back to work."

Ms Parton said cats were a life long commitment. She reminded Canberrans not to rush and adopt.

"Look for the right cat to suit your household. Do not go and fall emotionally in love with one and take it," she said.