The Girona City Council has launched a new management program for community cats living on the streets, aiming to "guarantee coexistence" and establish clear protocols for their census, sterilization, identification, and veterinary care. Approximately 800 cats have been identified in the city, spread across 78 colonies, of which 93% (740 individuals) are already sterilized.
This document, named the Community Cat Colony Management Program, will regulate animal care, prevent conflicts, enable emergency responses, and minimize impacts on biodiversity. The council thus consolidates a line of work that began in 2007.
The program relies on collaboration between the council, accredited volunteer caregivers, and entities, with veterinary support guaranteed through an agreement in place since 2021 with the Girona Cat Network Federation and the Girona Veterinary College.
The protocol's principles include animal welfare, ethical management, respect for the community cats' territory, and conflict prevention to improve coexistence with residents. Animal removal is only considered in exceptional cases and with veterinary supervision.
In practice, the program will allow for an updated census, planning of sterilizations, health monitoring, care for sick or injured animals, and emergency response, as well as regulating feeding and hygiene standards.
Protocols are also detailed for specific situations such as the detection of new individuals, pregnant, sick, or injured cats, veterinary emergencies, and the removal for adoption of socialized cats and kittens. Criteria are established for addressing cats on private properties, construction affecting colonies, or adverse weather conditions.
In environmentally sensitive areas, colony geolocation is cross-referenced with Natura 2000 Network sites to assess potential impacts on other species and implement biodiversity protection measures.
The City Council will also launch information campaigns to raise public awareness about responsible pet ownership, combat the lack of microchip identification, and promote sterilization to prevent new cats from joining colonies due to loss, uncontrolled litters, or abandonment.
Finally, it will be communicated that only accredited individuals may feed community cats, and domestic cats must be identified and controlled to prevent them from joining colonies.
