Monday, 6/23/2008 4:06 pm

Surrey Leader > News > Cat shelter seeks volunteers

Cat shelter seeks volunteers
By Boaz Joseph - Surrey North Delta Leader - June 23, 2008

Boaz Joseph video

Few were willing to give China and Bobby a chance.

The two pop can-sized manx kittens were born with wildly deformed hips and legs and could barely move, runts of a litter that couldn't be adopted.

A veterinarian determined the kittens weren't in pain, but there was little else they could do. Euthanasia was considered.

Perhaps their final opportunity came with Forgotten Felines, a cat shelter that moved last September from Newton to a horse farm in east Delta.

"They deserve a fighting chance," says shelter founder Penny March, who looks after China and Bobby and about 200 other cats.

With the help of volunteers Mona Boucher and Cindy Kolak, the feline siblings are slowly growing and becoming more active.

They're also affectionately looked after by dog Vernon, himself a cast-off with hip problems who was adopted by Forgotten Felines.

"They think Vernon's their mom," says March.

The new shelter is vast, about 20,000 square feet on the second floor of a long barn.

It's a much more roomy, well-ventilated environment than their former shelter, which has since been demolished for a condo development.

But there's a catch.

"We've got so much more potential here," says Boucher. "But we don't have the manpower or the skills to develop it properly."

Indeed there is (cold) running water and some fluorescent lights, but there's still a desperate need for a plumber to install the water heater and washing machines, an electrician to install more lights, and volunteers to help with routine maintenance of the cats' living facilities.

"A lot of people want to pet the cats, but nobody wants to clean," notes Boucher.

The shelter, for years, has been adopting – and sometimes trapping – abandoned, stray and feral cats.

The chronically ill ones live comfortably in separate rooms, but the majority are adoptable.

The shelter has been busy working with some pet stores to adopt out some of the residents, and there are plans for a roving RV to help foster adoptions.

They have also been busy trying to raise money with event such as yard sales to pay for food, litter, blankets and rent – with little success.

Indeed, donation of goods is appreciated, but Boucher says volunteers with clerical, fundraising and carpentry skills are more important.

"We'd rather have people than stuff."

For more information about Forgotten Felines, to donate money or to help with volunteering, visit www.forgottenfelines.ca

UPDATE: On Monday morning, China died of natural causes.