The cat population at Auckland SPCA has reached critical levels and families willing to adopt pets are urgently needed.

A man who filmed himself nailing a possum to a tree has been sentenced to prison.

After being Awol for half a decade Randy the cat was recently reunited with his owners - thanks to a trusty microchip, a caring stranger, and the Auckland SPCA.

Chickens starved to death, dead and decaying bobby calves and the carcasses of four goats were found by SPCA inspectors at a rural West Auckland property.

A lifestyle block farmer who bashed two pigs with a heavy steel bar in a "prolonged and violent attack" in front of an upset teenage boy has been jailed today.

Pet owners are paying hundreds of dollars every year for insurance to ward off expensive vet bills.

A 4-week-old kitten found in a tied up plastic bag at Whangarei's Mair Park has shocked the local SPCA which wants people to take unwanted animals to its drop-off boxes.

A woman who claimed she could not afford treatment for her kitten's ruptured eye has been sentenced to community service and fined.

A lesson for would-be burglars - in a break-in, don't leave your band-aid behind. The icky DNA 'present' has helped police arrest a double burglary suspect.

Canterbury SPCA welfare investigators are run off their feet trying to catch up after a record month for complaints in December.

Found wandering the streets as a chick, this hen is ready to be given a loving home.

Missy is a 2-year-old female staffie/boxer mixed breed dog that needs some company.

Abandoned on the streets with a collar embedded in her neck, Zahara has recovered and is ready for a loving home.

Melissa and Charlie come as a pair, having lived together with a previous owner, and would like to be adopted.

Indy was given to the SPCA after her previous owners moved from a country property to a small central home where there was not enough room for her to play.

Nina is a 1-year-old cat that prefers living in a quiet atmosphere as she becomes overwhelmed by loud noises.

These domestic shorthair tabby kittens are playful and loveable. They get along well so would love to be adopted together.

The Auckland SPCA has halved the cost of adopting cats and kittens over the Xmas period, saying it is at "crisis point" with too many feline arrivals.

A teen accused of firing a crossbow bolt through the head of a cat may be granted diversion.

A teen accused of firing a crossbow bolt through the head of a cat has been granted name suppression in a brief court appearance.