On World Cat Day, August 8, the German Animal Welfare Federation published its new “Cat Protection Report” and sounded the alarm: The suffering of stray cats in Germany has reached dramatic proportions. Animal welfare organizations across the country are at their limit. The federation is therefore once again calling on the federal government to introduce a nationwide mandatory neutering requirement for outdoor cats. This demand is gaining support from the public: A majority of cat owners favor such a regulation.
The new Cat Protection Report provides up-to-date data and survey results, analyzes the causes of the plight of stray cats, and systematically refutes the most common political objections to a nationwide mandatory neutering requirement for outdoor cats. The key finding: Both the facts and the solution have long been on the table—yet political action has yet to materialize.
“The fact that politicians continue to debate and look the other way instead of finally taking action is a political failure at the expense of countless animals,” explains Thomas Schröder, president of the German Animal Welfare Federation. “While politicians hesitate, countless cats are fighting for survival—they are starving, freezing, and sick; many die within the first few months of life. This suffering, affecting millions, is preventable and must no longer be ignored.”
WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR A NATIONWIDE MANDATORY NEUTERING POLICY
There are several million stray cats living in Germany. They are all descended from unneutered outdoor cats. A representative survey of cat owners from the new Cat Protection Report shows that one in ten pet cats in Germany is not neutered. At the same time, a nationwide mandatory neutering requirement for outdoor cats is meeting with broad support. 92 percent of cat owners would have their own cat neutered if this would reduce the suffering of stray cats and ease the burden on animal shelters. This willingness has increased significantly in recent years. At the same time, 95 percent of animal welfare organizations believe that such a regulation would ease the burden on their work
Animal welfare organizations and shelters that care for stray cats and have them neutered have long been operating at full capacity. The suffering of stray cats has become one of the country’s biggest overlooked animal welfare problems.
Note to editors: The full Cat Protection Report, featuring the latest survey results and background information, will be available starting August 4 on the website of the German Animal Welfare Federation’s “Every Cat’s Life Counts” campaign: www.jetzt-katzen-helfen.de/report (available in German only).
World Cat Day (also known as International Cat Day) on August 8 is always dedicated to cats. The aim is to raise awareness of cats’ needs and the importance of their protection
Information on the methodology of the cited surveys:
- The survey of cat owners was conducted by YouGov. Methodology: The data from this survey are based on online interviews with members of the YouGov panel who had agreed to participate in advance. A total of 1,036 cat owners were surveyed for this study between January 9 and 17, 2026. The survey was quota-sampled by age, gender, and region for cat owners, and the results were subsequently weighted accordingly. The results are representative of cat owners aged 18 and older in Germany.
- The survey of animal welfare organizations was conducted by Goldwind. Methodology: The data for this survey are based on an online survey of animal welfare organizations affiliated with the German Animal Welfare Federation (Deutscher Tierschutzbund). This survey was conducted between October and December 2025. 591, or 83%, of the affiliated animal welfare organizations participated in the survey.
