Key Indicators for Animal Welfare Organisations in November Highlight Positive Trends for Cats

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 20, 2011) - Pethealth Inc. (TSX:PTZ) ("Pethealth" or the "Company") - Cat intakes declined 6% year on year last month alongside a 13% decrease in euthanasia according to the November PetPoint Report. More specifically, owner surrender and stray cat intakes declined 5% and 9% respectively year on year.

At the same time, transfers of cats into and out of reporting animal welfare organisations increased 8% and 13% year on year last month. Adoptions increased 2% and the return of cats to their rightful owners increased 9% year on year.

Excepting inbound transfers and euthanasia, percentage changes reported here are within 1% of the average year on year percentage changes over the past six months, indicating results of the November data are consistent with emerging trends in the feline shelter population. Euthanasia has declined an average 11% year on year over the same period.

"The numbers reported here and in previous reports point to several positive trends within the feline population in animal welfare organisations," says Brad Grucelski, Vice President, PetPoint Solutions at Pethealth Inc. "The increasing transfer activity points to organisations' increasing ability to reduce feline euthanasia through redistribution. As reported last month, the increasing return of lost cats to their owners suggests more cat owners are using appropriate methods of pet identification, such as microchips and external ID tags."

The November report aggregated data from 934 animal welfare organisations using PetPoint. Findings were based on 126,092 intakes and 132,503 outcomes for dogs and cats that entered or left animal welfare organisations during the month. PetPoint is the most widely used animal management application in animal welfare.

For the November report, data was aggregated only from those organisations that were using PetPoint in November 2010 and November 2011. By comparing data from November 2011 to November 2010, the following can be summarized:

• Intakes of cats and dogs declined 6% and 1% respectively year on year.
• Euthanasia of cats and dogs declined 13% and 3% respectively year on year.
• Owner surrenders of cats and dogs declined 5% and 2% respectively year on year.
• Intakes of stray cats and dogs declined 9% and 4% respectively year on year.
• Transfers of cats into and out of reporting organisations increased 8% and 13% respectively year on year.
• Adoptions of cats and dogs increased 2% and 5% respectively year on year.
• Return to owner of cats and dogs increased 9% and 2% year on year.
• Average adoption fees for cats less than and more than 1 year old declined 9%, while average fees for dogs less than 1 year old declined 3% and remained the same for dogs over 1 year.

Pethealth, the owner of the cloud-based PetPoint application, hosts the data for all its licensed users, allowing data to be aggregated in a seamless and timely fashion. Today, over 1,760 animal welfare organisations in the United States and Canada have licensed PetPoint to manage their day to day operations. Pethealth aggregates more data on dogs and cats in animal welfare organisations than any other company.

Interested organisations can subscribe to receive more detailed reports that include localized regional and state data for a monthly fee. The full report can be accessed by visiting http://www.petpoint.com/petpoint-report-12-19-2011.asp. PetPoint reports are issued on the third Monday of each month, excepting statutory holidays in which case they are issued the following business day.

About PetPoint

PetPoint, first introduced in 2005, is now licensed by over 1,760 animal welfare organisations in North America and has facilitated the adoption of over 3.2 million pets. As a hosted application, animal welfare organisations can not only better organize and care for their homeless and abandoned animals, but can also reduce significantly, if not eliminate, their IT-related infrastructure costs. PetPoint is provided free to animal welfare organisations on the basis that these same organisations use the Company's 24PetWatch microchip program for all companion animals adopted. The 24PetWatch microchip program is the most widely used microchip and lost pet recovery service operating in both Canada and the United States.

About Pethealth Inc.

Pethealth is a leading provider of companion animal services in North America. In addition, the Company is the leading provider of management software to North American animal welfare organisations through its cloud-based application and is the leading provider of pet related database management services to the North American companion animal industry. Pethealth offers a unique range of products and services for veterinarians, shelters and pet owners through a number of wholly owned subsidiaries using a range of brand names including PetCare, 24PetWatch, Pet Protect, Petpals Direct, ShelterCare, PetPoint, Petango.com and ThePetangoStore.com.

Pethealth is based in Oakville, Ontario. To find out more about Pethealth, visit the web site at www.pethealthinc.com.