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Cat Overpopulation

Cat overpopulation is a problem all citizens of Winnipeg must solve together. Rescue groups and shelters simply cannot do it alone.

The problem

Thousands upon thousands of kittens are born every day — to family pets, stray cats living on the streets, and feral cats. As each kitten grows, it produces more kittens. And when those kittens grow up and start to reproduce, the cycle continues.

The result? Too many cats and not enough homes for all of them.

Winnipeg’s animal rescue shelters are full all the time, and unable to take in the continuous stream of cats and kittens that need help. Having such a large number of cats living on the streets is a problem for both the cats and the community:

  • The cats pose a health risk to humans and other animals as they defecate anywhere they please, get into trash, and carry deadly diseases such as rabies.
  • They also may scare away wildlife, such as birds, or frighten small children.

Feral cat info

The solution

The Winnipeg Humane Society believes the problem needs to be addressed at its very root. As many cats as possible need to be spayed or neutered to prevent the unwanted litters that make up the bulk of the overpopulation problem.

The WHS Clinic performs over 5,000 spay and neuter surgeries every year. That sounds like a lot, but the cat overpopulation problem doesn’t seem to be subsiding. To see any difference in Winnipeg’s cat overpopulation problem, three actions need to be taken:

  1. Any owned cat must be spayed or neutered, even if it’s an indoor cat. Every WHS animal is spayed or neutered before it leaves the building. We also provide subsidized spay and neuter surgeries to help low-income families off-set the cost.
  2. Stray cats must be rescued and spayed or neutered before they are adopted out to loving families.
  3. Feral cats can be trapped, neutered and returned through our TNR Program.

TNR Program


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