ArticleAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2026
StrayCare Metro: Evaluation of a Targeted Cat Desexing Program to Manage Free-Roaming Cats.
Article in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Bella and Charlie Are Not the Problem-It's Us: The Real Causes of Wildlife Rescue in NSW.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Beyond population size: long-term changes in free-roaming cat population structure during TNR implementation in Seoul.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFree-roaming cats in Australian cities contribute to wildlife impacts, community concerns, and high shelter intake. We used an observational pre-post evaluation study design of a targeted cat desexing program ("StrayCare Metro") delivered with councils and community partners in four local government areas (LGAs) of Greater Sydney (2022-2024).
methodsProgram records documented cat enrolments and services; council and state databases supplied annual shelter intake, euthanasia, and cat-related complaints; and transect drives in two LGAs (2021 and 2024) estimated cat encounter rates and population density. The analysis did not include control LGAs.
resultsThe program desexed 1225 cats; among enrolled cats not already microchipped, 72% received a microchip and 28% declined despite this being offered for free. Compared with pre-program baselines, annual council shelter intake decreased by 49-73% within LGAs (61% overall), with concurrent reductions in euthanasia. Cat-related complaints declined in three LGAs (47-64%) but increased in one. Transect drives indicated substantial declines in cat encounter rates in Blue Mountains (51%) and Campbelltown (35%) and lower density estimates in both surveyed LGAs.
conclusionsA collaborative targeted desexing approach was associated with large reductions in council pound intake, euthanasia, and, in most areas, nuisance complaints, alongside independent indications of reduced free-roaming cat density.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.