Vets neutering plea to combat strays increase

Calder Vets, which has offices in Dewsbury, Mirfield and Heckmondwike has been taking in a stream of strays at its Dewsbury practice, with eight arriving in one week alone in May.

As well as limiting the number of abandoned litters in the county, neutering cats has several other benefits.

In tom cats it can stop them roaming and reduce the spread of disease through fighting and in females it will stop them coming into heat, which can be uncomfortable and cause them to roam for toms.

In many cases, the animal-loving team at Calder rehome the animals themselves, including a kitten called Milo, who is now living with practice manager Tracy Hemingway.

Another also has a new home with Adam Szefer, who is building Calder’s new practice in Halton, Leeds.

He has taken one under his wing and named him Clive.

Tracy said: “We’re all animal lovers first and foremost, so any strays which come our way will always be well looked after and, in many cases, rehomed by our staff.

“However, it’s not an ideal situation. Looking after strays can be expensive and time-consuming as they will often have medical issues such as worms and fleas and are almost never microchipped.

“It’s really important for pet owners to take the important step of neutering their cats as it saves an awful lot of unnecessary heartache and stress further down the line.”