No abstract

Successful reduction of death and euthanasia rates requires the determination of factors related to death and euthanasia of cats in shelters. In the period from 2011 to 2015, 474 cats died and 240 had to be euthanized for health reasons in the three cat shelters monitored in our study. Altogether, death was the ultimate outcome for 33% of the cats admitted in the shelters. Out of the cats that died, 67.3% cats died within the first month and 95.4% within 6 months of admission to the shelter. Similarly, 65.0% of all euthanized cats were euthanized within the first month and 88.3% were euthanized within 6 months of admission. Since the majority of mortalities occurred shortly after admission, they more probably resulted from the cats' poor condition at the time of admission rather than from the shelter's environment. Females and cats younger than 6 months were at an increased risk of mortality. Autumn and summer were the seasons with the majority of fatalities. In general, the number of cats that died was almost double the number of cats that were euthanized; this suggests that attempts to cure cats were favoured over euthanasia, even in cases of serious health problems. In the fields of cat welfare and veterinary healthcare, the results enable increased attention to be focused on the determined risk factors and thus are an important prerequisite for a successful solution to the problem of the high number of deaths and instances of euthanasia of cats in shelters.

The aim of this study was to describe the numbers and characteristics of cats entering Czech shelters. Records of sheltered cats were collected from three cat shelters situated in different regions of the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2015. A total of 2170 cat admissions were analyzed in this study. Significantly (p < .001) greater numbers of females (56%) were admitted. Most cats (60%) were admitted when they were aged younger than six months. Cats with dark coat colors prevailed (73%), cats with medium-shade colors followed (20%), and light-colored cats were the rarest (7%). The greatest numbers of cats were admitted in summer (36%), followed by autumn (33%). The fewest cats were admitted in winter (14%). Adoption was the most common outcome for admitted cats (65%), followed by unassisted death (22%) and euthanasia (11%) due to health reasons. Only 2% of cats were reclaimed from the shelters by their original caretakers. The length of stay ranged from 0 days to 1736 days with a median of 45 days. These findings may help shelter operators define optimal strategies and operational plans.