We’ve joined with eight of the UK’s animal welfare charities to promote World Spay Day on Tuesday 23 February

Every year, we join forces with a number of animal charities around the UK to help spread the message to owners to get their cats neutered.

Neutering, otherwise known as spaying, ‘fixing’ or ‘being done’ is an operation to prevent female cats from getting pregnant and male cats from making female cats pregnant.

While having a huge number of kittens might sound like fun, recent research has shown that 70% of kitten litters in the UK are unplanned[1]. That’s a lot of kittens needing care, attention and homes – something that can be difficult to prepare for.

To avoid more unwanted cats in the UK, our advice is simple. If you can, book your cat in for neutering at four months old. Kittens can get pregnant from a young age and will even mate with their siblings.

As well as avoiding pregnancy, there are a number of health benefits for getting your cat neutered too. Neutering is one of the kindest things you can do for your cat and helps protect them against picking up nasty diseases and some cancers. Neutering also protects female cats against risks associated with pregnancy.

Male cats that have been neutered are less likely to end up injured from fighting or stray from home – and they’re also less likely to spray smelly urine in the house as a way of marking their scent to appeal to potential female mates.

Watch our video to find out more about the importance of neutering.

How can I avoid my cat getting pregnant?

This year, the coronavirus crisis has affected vets too.

As well as juggling a new way of working, many have had to prioritise emergency appointments, meaning access to neutering operations will vary.

It is important to check with your vet for availability and make an appointment in advance if you can.

As we approach kitten season, we’re keen to share our advice on what cat owners can do to avoid their cats becoming pregnant while they wait to have them neutered.

Take a look at our visual guide for our top tips.

• if in doubt, speak to your vet to see if you can book ahead
• keep unneutered cats indoors to prevent unplanned pregnancies
• remember, cats can get pregnant from as young as four months of age - keep unneutered kittens indoors
• keep siblings separate - brothers and sisters will mate
• access to vet care is restricted at the moment and rehoming kittens is likely to be more difficult

Enlarge our visual guide and share