RSPCA Centrepay
Cat Desexing Program
RSPCA Tasmania regularly receives enquiries from cat owners who are experiencing difficulties budgeting to have their cats desexed.
Like many other animal welfare organisations, in the past we have successfully operated localised desexing support schemes.
However, COVID-19 has significantly changed things and we can see an opportunity to offer this program state-wide.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Amendments to the Cat Management Act have all come into effect by 1 March 2022. Cat owners are now required to have their cats desexed (some exceptions do apply) by the age of four months and any cat sold (some exceptions do apply) needs to be desexed (even if they are under 4 months of age).
More and more people have embraced cat ownership during the pandemic. At the same time, we know many Tasmanian households are experiencing financial hardship, which means that the cost of desexing their cats is often beyond their reach. This can cause great stress to owners and their cats. It also increases the risk of unwanted litters of kittens that can cause environmental damage if they become feral.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
It is clear that there is an obvious need to offer financial assistance to those people who are on concession or health-care cards to enable them to meet the cost of desexing their cats.
So we are launching a pilot state-wide desexing program for people who are eligible for Centrepay.
This scheme offers a simple online system to help cat owners stretch out the payments for their desex vet bills. The owner pays us a deposit of $30 up front. We pay the vet bill for them and they then repay the balance owing through their Centrelink payments at a minimum of $25 per fortnightly payment.
This program is only available to holders of health care, pension and student cards, and only one application per person can be supported at any one time.
What you need to do
ATTACH DOCUMENTS
- Attach copies of IDs (Centrelink card and photo ID) to the online form.
MAKE PAYMENT
- Pay $30 down payment online.
What we will do
Confirm your successful application.
Arrange payment of the $30 deposit and schedule Centrelink payments for the balance.
Provide you with an RSPCA desexing voucher to give to your vet.
Email your vet clinic to confirm your eligibility.
Pay your vet bill for you.
