The Cat Epidemic In Spain Seems To Be Over As The Spanish Become A Cat Society At Last In Spain

FOR those that either reside in or visit Spain on holiday, you will be all too aware of the presence of cats roaming the streets without a home.

Over the years, many people have voiced their opinion that cat colonies are a nuisance to society and need to be eradicated, believing that they smell or pose a health risk to humans.

Back in 2014 in Spain, a society who fight to protect birds even made a public statement which asked for something to be done about feral cats as they are “a threat to small mammals and birds, which they often kill but do not eat.”

In fact, there are thousands of feral cats across Spain, who often lurk around garbage containers desperately looking for scraps of food. Often unneutered, they can produce litters of kittens every so often, and sadly have a very short lifespan due to health problems acquired whilst on the streets or by being hit by a car. 

However, the almighty love for the feline friend is now rather overwhelming in Spain, which could be thanks to a law introduced in 2008 which made it illegal to poison cats and growing police action against animal cruelty. Local authorities were instead urged to sterilise the animals, a method that has proved to be the most effective in keeping the numbers at bay.

Although the treatment comes at a price, an average of between €40 and €200, animal charities and good hearted souls who want to make a difference to their community often cover the costs.  

Others kindly lay out food each day for the animals or keep a watchful eye over the colonies, where for feline-loving Brits, a needy feral cat or kitten is usually too difficult to ignore.

While most may assume that strays are similar to domesticated cats, although they are just as special, there are several key differences that you need to be aware of. Often they show fear and a dislike human contact, but gaining their trust is an incredibly powerful experience. 

At Euro Weekly News, we encourage our readers to lend a helping hand to animal charities or think about the cats that are in your area, as it is not by choice that they were unlucky enough to be born on the streets. 

With Spain becoming a cat loving society the cat epidemic in Spain seems to be drawing to a close.