How a new adoption centre is keeping more cats off London streets

London's newest adoption centre is taking more furry four-legged cats off the streets and into forever homes.

The Catty Shack has turnedan old home on 756 Windermere Road into a temporary shelter for about 50 sprayed, neutered and vaccinated cats.

The city owned facility takes in the overflow of cats from London Animal Care Centre, which accepts between 1600 to 2400 cats every year.

Ron Oke, who's the animal welfare coordinator at the city, said the new centre will help mitigate overcrowding at the city's pound, while maintaining a no-kill, pro-adoption status in London.

"When the pound gets into a position where it has too many adoptable animals they can just transfer them here," he said. "With viable animals, we have to have spaces to put them in, so this is wonderful opportunity to put them in here."

In 2013, the city adopted a policy to reduce the number of animals euthanized at LACC and across London.

'Able to do more'

Cats R Us, which is a non-profit rescue organization in London, was awarded the annual contract of about $160,000 to run the adoption centre.

Lory Ryder, who's the vice president of the charity, said the city's investment into animal welfare has prompted calls from other municipalities.

"This is wonderful for the animals to be able to do more," she said. "There are so many animals that are out on the streets, abandoned and scared and lonely."

Ryder said recent bylaw changes have rewarded responsible pet owners with the opportunity of adopting more pets if all current animals in a household were sprayed and neutered.

"If you don't get them fixed, there's more breeding, more health issues and more death. We don't want that," said Ryder. "We want them healthy and happy and we want them to enjoy their life."

Apart from the city's pound, the new centre will also accept cats from the city's Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release (TNR) program with a goal of 60 adoptions a month.