In both countries, approximately 40% to 50% of animals entering shelters or pounds will be euthanized, the vast majority of which are cats. This does not include animals relinquished to shelters by their owners for reasons such as infirmity, unacceptable behaviors, or old age ( 7). In the United States, an estimated 6 to 8 million dogs and cats enter shelters each year ( 6). In Canada, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies estimates that approximately 300 000 unowned cats and dogs enter shelters and pounds annually ( 5). There are no accurate total numbers for feral, stray, or abandoned dogs and cats in Canada, only a proportion of which enter animal shelters or pounds each year, but informal estimates for unowned, stray cats in the city of Toronto alone have been suggested to be somewhere between 100 000 to 220 000 animals ( 2).Ī trend seen in North America is that the numbers of dogs entering shelters are decreasing while numbers of unwanted cats are increasing ( 3, 4). In addition to significant health and welfare problems of the animals themselves, there are public health and safety concerns with free-roaming animals, and key environmental concerns, including wild and domestic animal predation by feral dogs and cats, and potential attraction of predators, such as coyotes, into suburban and urban areas by the ready supply of feral cats as food ( 1). Stray or unowned, free-roaming animals, and in particular, cats, continue to be a societal challenge in North America.

The stray cafe download free