Spain's new animal welfare rules for cats

There will be several changes regarding kittens, the most important of which is that all animals will have to be sterilised before they are six months old, although there will be one notable exception.

The exception to the neutering requirement is that it does not have to be carried out when the cat is registered as a breeding animal and belongs to a professional breeder. Kittens will not be allowed to be sold in pet shops, and can only be bought from registered breeders. In the case of adoptions of adult cats, these can only be carried out at animal shelters or by means of a transfer between private individuals, which must be fully documented.

As already stated, it will not be necessary to pass a responsible ownership course, as will be the case for dogs, nor will it be necessary to have a civil liability insurance.

However, cats must also have a vaccination certificate and a microchip. There will be differences between them, as the regulations establish three different types of cats: domestic cats, free-roaming cats and 'community' cats. In the first case, it is established that they cannot live on terraces, balconies, roof terraces, basements and patios, among others. Furthermore, no cat may be left for more than three days without human supervision.

Euthanasia will also be tightly regulated as it will only be allowed in three very specific cases: to alleviate the suffering of a terminal illness, for reasons of safety for humans and animals or because the cat has become a threat to public health

In addition, the new animal regulations will determine the steps to take after the death of a cat, as the owner will be obliged to notify the relevant authorities of the death in a document, as well as what has been done with the body, although cremation or burial must be done in a regulated way.

All sounds great on paper but implementing and overseeing is where the regs will stand or fall. Time will tell if it makes any difference. We drove down a street near Cabo Cervera and I have never seen so many cats in one place. There must have been a 100 of them. They were being fed at the time. They all looked fat and healthy.

Bee