There are no cats available for adoption at the RSPCA for the first time in at least 20 years, giving Canberra animal lovers claws for celebration.
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Last cat out was a black and white kitten called Scout, which was adopted at 5.06pm on Saturday, meaning apart from a few litters in foster care the RSPCA in Canberra is feline-free.
RSPCA ACT chief executive Tammy Ven Dange said staff were all celebrating the milestone, which she hoped was a sign of good things to come.
"It's so weird not to hear any meows or have cats rubbing up against the front of the kennels," she said, laughing.
"I was talking to one of our volunteers who's been in the cattery for 20 years and she couldn't remember a time when we've been out of cats and kittens."
Ms Ven Dange said at the start of last week there were 12 cats and four kittens available for adoption.
She said the result was exactly what the RSPCA was hoping to achieve in the ACT. "We don't want unwanted animals in our community, we want every domesticated animal out there to have a home, so from our perspective that's exactly what we're looking forward to," she said.
"I talked to our leadership team the other day and said 'How do we make ourselves redundant?' "
Still, the good news might not last for long –- Ms Ven Dange said spring was kitten season in the ACT.
"October is when things start to really ramp up in kitten season. But I'm cautiously optimistic at the moment. It could be the calm before the storm, but it's a major milestone if nothing else," she said.
She said Canberran residents should always desex their animals, as it was better for the community and better for local wildlife.
"It [also] prevents us from having a massive number of unwanted animals and it also controls disease ... The more people in the community that take this responsibility seriously, about desexing their animals, the lower number of unwanted pets we get into the shelter," Ms Ven Dange said.
