‘Little Paws of the North’ - Council and Lort Smith help promote responsible pet ownership

On January 19, 2023, the City of Whittlesea in partnership with Lort Smith Animal Hospital launches ‘Little paws of the North’, an initiative that supports the community in responsible pet ownership.

Alternating between Hume City Council and City of Whittlesea, every month in 2023, residents with a concession card can book their pets into Lort Smith Animal Hospital Vet Clinic located at 25-35 Berwick Road, Campbellfield to have their pets desexed, microchipped and vaccinated by expert vets at heavily discounted prices.

The project aims to not only reduce the risk of potentially serious hormone-related conditions and unwanted pregnancies, but it will also offer pet owners education sessions that provide tips to help ensure the entire family, including our furry companions, are safe and happy in their forever homes.

The program aims to desex approximately 300 cats over the course of 12 months.

The desexing packages are available to residents of the City of Whittlesea at $50 per cat. The procedure is straight forward and owners can drop off and collect their animals on the same day. Payment is required at the time of booking. The package includes:

• a routine health check;
• routine desexing with post-operative pain relief;
• F3 vaccinations protecting cats from flu and parvovirus; and
• microchip implantation and database registration which will help reunite missing pets with their owners quickly and easily.

Lort Smith will provide each owner with a small information kit to take home including a certificate of proof for desexing their pet, information about microchipping, and post-operative care information.
To be eligible:

• the resident or nominated owner of the pet must be 16 years of age or older;
• a confirmed resident of the partnered municipality (City of Whittlesea or Hume City Council) ;
• a valid government-issued concessional card; and
• evidence of experiencing financial hardship (preferable but not essential).

All cats must be three months or over AND have a minimum weight of 1kg.
Bookings are accepted 3 weeks before each event and limited bookings are available.
Book at Lort Smith Animal Hospital – Campbellfield
25-35 Berwick Road, Campbellfield. VIC 3046
Phone: 03 9328 3021

Statistics and facts for the City of Whittlesea

• From 1 August 2023 mandatory desexing of newly registered cats will be introduced.
• 1833 people participated in the consultation
• Over 82% of respondents supported the introduction of mandatory cat desexing for newly registered cats.
• Council can apply for grant funding as can shelters, pounds, etc.
• Mandatory desexing rules do not apply to cats already registered with CoW
• 95% of cats registered in the City of Whittlesea are already desexed
• Mandatory desexing will reduce the number of unwanted litters of kittens. Currently, only between 6 and 8% of cats impounded at the Epping Animal Welfare Facility are reclaimed.
• 24 of the 79 Victorian councils have mandatory cat desexing

For more information and assistance www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/cats