The Moggies.com.au launch was held at Lort Smith Animal Hospital on September 8th. Dr Hugh Wirth opened the launched and invited Dr Carole Webb to speak about this exciting new nation-wide initiative.
Dr Carole Webb;
Welcome to the launch of Moggies.com.au, an exciting new web based project supported by animal welfare organisations throughout Australia to improve outcomes for shelter cats across the country by improving the cat’s image within the community thereby increasing adoption rates.
A little history as to why we are here today- in 2005 Victoria’s animal welfare organisations came together to form the Cat Crisis Coalition- the crisis facing them and still present today, being the massive cat overpopulation and large numbers of unwanted cats entering shelters. Faced with the overwhelming intake, there are simply not enough homes available for the numbers produced. Unacceptable in today’s civilised society, these figures have not changed through time because cats have never been looked at and addressed with feline solutions. The union of the shelters under the CCC banner was historic, as shelters do not always see eye to eye, but the magnitude of the problem and our desire to address it, our desire to create a better world for our cats, overcame these issues. With one voice we began the fight for compulsory desexing as part of a holistic plan to reduce the numbers entering shelters, addressing the problem at its source, prevention rather than cure- the battle continues to this day.
At the other end, and our focus today is that cats in Australia suffer from an image problem. Firstly as a species they are often overlooked, dismissed, ignored compared to dogs, very much regarded as honorary dogs or second class citizens. They are not valued, often branded environmental vandals or a community nuisance. This is evidenced by the problems facing cats at present. If something has no value generally it is not looked after responsibly and so the cycle continues. Today we see cats are equal to dogs- my personal view is that they are superior, but we shall settle for equal for the moment! In this busy world of ours they make ideal companions, they are cleaner, less demanding, less expensive to keep than dogs and adjust brilliantly to apartment living, They are the companion of the future.
Secondly, shelter cats in particular are often regarded as second hand goods, perhaps damaged in some way, so are not always a first choice when looking to adopt a new cat. Today we say the reverse, that a shelter cat is exactly the pet you are looking for. Shelters all know how special these cats are, they enter our care in a poor and often neglected state-without a home or owner to care for them anymore, in poor body condition, often ill and injured, with matted coats, not desexed nor microchipped, not vaccinated and with a hopeless dejected look in their beautiful eyes. On entry our vets check their health, we feed them up, nurse the ill ones back to health, fixing their wounds and treating their colds, they are groomed, desexed, microchipped, vaccinated, dewormed, deflead, cared for and loved and then placed up for adoption with a health guarantee and a guarantee that their paperwork is all in order, ie, that they are legally owned by us and ready for adoption. We restore their dignity and pride-cats are very dignified animals- and the gleam in their eyes reflects their new status. All that is needed now is a new home. What more could you ask for? Not only that, but by adopting, a new space is created in our overflowing shelters and another life is saved. We say these cats are the penultimate cat for you, we just need to convince you this is the case.
So, how do we do that? Collectively we felt it was time to give cats in general and shelter cats in particular, a make-over, time to put felines number one, time to show just how special and first class our feline friends are. Time for cats to have their day in the sun- and as we all know this is a very popular pastime for our felines. Our aims- to place more of them into responsible new homes thereby improving the outcomes for shelter cats across Australia, and to improve the image of cats generally.
And so, with the support of animal welfare organisations across Australia, moggies was born. We decided that these special cats would become a breed of their own, something unique, special and much sought after- like diamonds are forever, every one is a gem to be loved and cherished and given the responsible home they so very much deserve. So when you are thinking of being owned by a cat you think a Moggie wants me.
So what is moggies:
Moggies is a web-based rehoming program and educational tool, quite simply if you want to be owned by a cat- and remember they own you not the other way around- you go to moggies.com.au, type in your postcode, and up comes all the cats near you looking for a home - nothing simpler - particularly for technosaurs like me. The shelters participating in Moggies do so under a code of conduct which guarantees the Moggie status to the potential adoptee. All moggies are desexed, microchipped, vaccinated, dewormed, deflead, veterinary health-checked, and come with a health guarantee and importantly a guarantee that their legal paperwork is in order. If you support a particular shelter you can search on the cats they have available and obtain all of the details about the shelter - you can contact them directly if you wish. The code of conduct is available for potential adoptees to view, there is an information section on feline care and welfare and the ability to sign-up to receive an e-newsletter, or email your friends information about cats you may like. If you have a responsible loving home and you wish to be owned by a feline, be owned by a moggie and save a life. Even if you do not wish to be owned by a cat it is a wonderful place to visit and explore if you are a cat lover.
I would like to thank all of the animal welfare organisations present today and participating in moggies for their support, our moggies team have worked long and hard to bring this concept into reality - Allan and Amanda from Braveheartmedia Services, the web guys at Eleven Media and my CPS team, particularly Dianne our project officer and Melissa for her magnificent photos of our beautiful moggies.
And now to improve shelter outcomes for cats across Australia by increasing adoption rates, through an enhancement of their image it is my great pleasure and honour on behalf of the cats of Victoria to officially launch
Dr Carole Webb
Executive Director
Cat Protection Society of Victoria
