Life is tough for many cats all over the world. Those that are unowned can struggle to survive on the streets, and may face inhumane methods of population control. For pet cats, welfare issues arise when people do not understand or fulfil their needs, or when veterinary care is not as good as it could be. Human desire to create certain looks for cats through breeding has resulted in cats suffering with serious health problems. These are just a few examples of the many ways in which cat welfare needs to be improved.
A number of different entities are responsible for feline welfare, ranging from individual owners caring for their pets, to central governments setting welfare legislation. Although it is important for everyone to play their own part in helping cats, it is also essential that these different bodies work together, if cat welfare is to be improved.
That’s why International Cat Care (iCatCare) has developed the ‘International Declaration of Responsibilities to Cats’. This document defines best practice for all those responsible for feline welfare, and provides a clear framework for a collaborative and coordinated approach to the protection and improvement of cat welfare.
International Cat Care is encouraging everyone to sign the Declaration. The gathering of signatures will achieve three goals:
- Those signing will be acknowledging that they have read the document and agree that we need a collaborative way forward to help the global cat population.
- The gathering of signatures will act as a petition, helping iCatCare to show the world how many people care about cats and want their welfare to be improved.
- Supporting the Declaration will enable organisations to use the document to help convince other parties to work together or develop new laws or responsibilities which can help deliver better cat welfare.
Once individuals have signed the Declaration, they can declare their support for improving feline welfare by sharing a photo on social media with one of the charity’s downloadable signs, using the hashtag #catdeclaration.
If you believe that the quality of life of every single cat matters, whether it lives in our home or on the streets, please sign the Declaration. To read and sign the document, and to download iCatCare’s Declaration signs, go to: www.icatcare.org/declaration.
Jo Vuckovic, Digital Communications Manager
t. +44 (0)1747 871872
Declare your support for improving feline welfare by sharing a photo on social media with one of iCatCare’s downloadable signs, using the hashtag #catdeclaration. Signs can be downloaded from https://icatcare.org/declaration
Copies of the Declaration can be downloaded from https://icatcare.org/declaration
Notes to editors:
About International Cat Care (iCatCare)
International Cat Care is a charity dedicated to improving the health and welfare of cats worldwide.
The International Cat Care vision: all cats, owned and unowned, are treated with care, compassion and understanding.
The International Cat Care mission: to engage, educate and empower people throughout the world to improve the health and welfare of cats by sharing advice, training and passion.