Regular, clean feeding keeps community animals healthy and calm, and makes sterilisation and vaccination easier.
Where and when
- Use a fixed spot and time, away from entrances, children’s play areas and busy roads. The Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 ask resident welfare associations to arrange designated feeding spots.
- Follow court orders on feeding; see the Supreme Court judgment of 22 August 2025 and the Library.
- Clean up after every feed so leftovers do not attract other animals or cause complaints.
What to feed
- Dogs and cats: plain cooked rice or roti with curd, eggs or meat, or commercial pet food. Keep fresh water out.
- Avoid chocolate, grapes and raisins, onions, garlic, heavily spiced or salty food, and cooked bones.
- Cattle: fresh fodder and vegetable peels. Never feed food in plastic bags; swallowed plastic kills cattle.
- Birds: clean water in shallow bowls, especially in summer; grains rather than bread.
Health
- Note any animal that is injured, limping or not eating, and see Found an injured animal?
- Help get the animals you feed sterilised and vaccinated through your municipal ABC programme or a group in the directory.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws and court orders change; check the Library and the original documents.