Cat vaccine shortage impacts Council services

 Cat vaccine shortage impacts Council services

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The City of Greater Geelong has made changes to its cat trapping services as the result of a nationwide cat vaccine shortage, due to production issues.

Effective immediately, and for the foreseeable future, the City of Greater Geelong will not be offering or performing cat trapping within the municipality.

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This is to reduce the number of cats needing to be taken to shelters, particularly the City's pound service operator, Geelong Animal Welfare Society (GAWS), who are currently experiencing critical supply shortages .

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While the situation will be actively monitored, and cat trapping services will resume as soon as possible, the situation is unlikely to change until February next year at the earliest.

In an effort to manage capacity at GAWS, a number of other actions will also be implemented to slow or cease admissions:

The surrender of cats will be discouraged until the supply of vaccination stock has recovered. Food and bedding support will be provided where possible.

Whilst the vaccine shortage is impacting shelters, free Council registration will be offered for newly adopted cats currently in GAWS, for the remainder of the current period and through to April 2025.

There will be an extension of the current subsidised cat desexing program offered by the City at GAWS to minimise litters in coming months. The concession requirement will be removed, and program dates extended until funding allocation is exhausted.

The City is continuing to work closely with GAWS to monitor and respond to the situation as it unfolds and remains committed to supporting animal welfare.

Adopting a cat, keeping your cat indoors, ensuring your cat is wearing Council registration tag when outdoors, desexing your cat, or making a donation to a local animal shelter or rescue group are some ways residents may consider helping during this critical time.