Here are some questions we're commonly asked. If you can't find the answer that you need, please feel free to contact us.
If you have concerns about an animal being neglected or treated with cruelty, please contact your nearest SPCA centre.
SPCA is the organisation tasked with upholding the Animal Welfare Act 1999 in New Zealand, and are the only ones with legal powers.
If you have no luck, please contact us and we’ll see what we can do.
Abandoning (deserting – see s 14 Animal Welfare Act 1999) a cat is an offense but unfortunately it happens all of the time.
In the first instance, contact your nearest SPCA centre. It is important to note that language can be important – the cat has been deserted, and you have not fed them.
If you have no luck via this avenue, please reach out to our colleagues at The Pawphanage to see if they're in a position to help.
As part of our new model, New Lives is no longer taking in cats (we are focusing on providing a long term subsidised desexing program instead) except where the cat has been adopted from New Lives previously.
Desexed cats can be privately rehomed responsibly so we do encourage you to try this first. After all, you know them better than anybody else.
Reach out to friends and family and advertise them on Trademe. You can also advertise them on the Pet Rehoming New Zealand Facebook group. A good blurb and quality photos will help to ensure your success.
If the cat has been adopted from another rescue or shelter, get in contact with them too as there may be a safety net clause in your adoption contract.
If you are unable to rehome them yourself, please reach out to other shelters and rescues as some will happily take on this sort of cat. You may need to look outside of your immediate area.
As part of our new model, New Lives is no longer taking in cats (we are focusing on providing a long term subsidised desexing program instead) but if you reach out to our colleagues at The Pawphanage they may be able to help you with any cats and kittens that you are unable to keep.
If you are keeping mum and are struggling to have her desexed (or you need help with any other cat you are keeping), check out our community desexing program.
The first step is to make sure they’re actually stray. A stray cat doesn’t have an owner or anybody to look after them.
Have a chat to your neighbours, and if they don’t belong to any of your neighbours, you can pop them into any vet clinic or shelter to be checked for a microchip at no cost.
If they’re not microchipped, the next steps are to pop a paper collar on them to see if anybody responds, and to advertise them as found. Create a free found pet listing on the LostPet website and share it to your local community pages on social media. The New Zealand Lost Pet Register on Facebook also has a huge reach.
If after seven days you haven’t been able to find their guardian or owner, please get in touch with our friends at The Pawphanage to see if they're in a position to help.
If they are vulnerable (very young, very old, sick, or injured) please get in touch with The Pawphanage immediately.
As part of our new model, New Lives is no longer taking in cats (we are focusing on providing a long term subsidised desexing program instead) so we are no longer lending out humane traps.
If you live within the Hamilton city limits, traps are available to hire at Hamilton City Council Animal Education and Control. If you are outside of Hamilton, please check with your district council to see if they have traps available.
If you are struggling to have your cat desexed, please check out our community desexing scheme.