The RSPCA and the City of Onkaparinga are offering residents the opportunity to get their cats desexed for free.  

The free desexing program is aimed at combating cat overpopulation and reducing nuisance behaviours such as noise, spraying and fighting.

It's hoped up to 2000 cats will be desexed under the program which will run until August next year.

Onkaparinga residents can book their cat in for desexing at the RSPCA’s Lonsdale site via the RSPCA SA website. 

Cats must be at least six months of age and have been vaccinated.

The RSPCA and Animal Welfare League look after more than 10 000 dumped kittens and cats each year.

It’s estimated that feral cats and those allowed to roam outdoors kill up to 1.7 billion native animals and birds in Australia each year.

A Federal Government report into domestic cat control released in December found that many owners wrongly believe that their cats do not kill wildlife and recommended education campaigns to encourage owners to contain their cats at home.

It also found that there were more likely to be high levels of free-roaming cats in areas of low income and recommended programs of free or subsidised desexing like the one on offer by the City of Onkparinga be encouraged and expanded.

The Banyule City Council in Victoria has been offering free desexing for cats for seven years and in that time the area has seen a significant reduction in the number of cats being euthanised.