A cat named Marie, who has been rehabilitated at SPCA.

Stray cats and dogs often suffer from poor health, and when they are picked up off the streets or from a bad home environment, they are often found to be in need of urgent medical attention.

Pet home SPCA prides itself on helping transform even dying animals into healthy pets, ready to be adopted by a loving person or family.

All this, of course, involves time, money and love.

Strays can have worms, ticks and fleas and may harbour diseases. So when cats and dogs first arrive at the home, they are assessed and cleaned of all parasites. Then they are neutered to stop the stray population from growing further.

This also helps to reduce the incidence of diseases such as pyometra (an infection in the uterus) and mammary tumours, minimises the costs of breeding and reduces the animal’s metabolic rate so it can gain and maintain weight more efficiently.

There are also behavioural benefits, such as reduced roaming in castrated males.

By law, all cats and dogs have to be microchipped – a harmless and necessary procedure so any lost animals can be traced.

They are also vaccinated against common diseases to help prevent future illnesses.

However, not all strays can be cured as some may have lost a limb, become blind, or have an ongoing problem such as sandfly.

In such cases, SPCA needs to find a special owner who fully understands how to support and treat their pet. The centre advises people of any known problems during the homing assessment stage.

Healthy pets boost their family’s immune system and encourage exercise through play and walks.

They also serve as emotional support by improving children’s social skills, prevent loneliness and provide easy opportunities for social interaction.