Cr Max Taylor said he was shocked to see the conditions the council staff and volunteers had to work in at the RSPCA facility.

"As soon as money is available for refurbishment of the RSPCA the better," Cr Taylor said.

The Braithwaite Street site has been earmarked for a $900,000 refurbishment with plans already completed.

Cr Taylor praised the work of staff and volunteers who had returned or rehoused a high number of cats and dogs while a minimal number of animals had been euthanised.

Cr Ben Blain also flagged the possibility of council lowering pet registration fees - an issue that has drawn ire from pet owners across the city who have been hit with increases in recent years.

The fee hikes were brought in to cover increased operation costs which are now more than $400,000 a year.

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"Council officers do take a compassionate stance with animals. We don't just try lock them up to get the fee, it's more about getting them back to where they belong," Cr Blain said.

"One thing I do hope that we can look at as the term continues on is possibly looking at some way of lowering our pet registration fees.

"It's important we look after our furry friends and have as many of them registered as possible in the municipality."

Cr Blain said there had been calls for more patrols for domestic animals, but any increase would be difficult for the council without allocating more resources which would be costly.

The council's latest data shows there has been a big jump in the amount of pets being registered in Warrnambool over the past year.

There are now 4478 dogs - a rise of 160 - and there are 1833 cats - a rise of 94.

There were 13 dogs euthanised - down from a high of 18 in recent years - and 58 cats euthanised - down from 109.

But there has been an increase of dogs declared menacing - with 21 reported last year compared to nine the previous year - although only one was declared dangerous.

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