Humane Society dealing with a wild cat problem in Ladner

Sandor Gyarmati, Delta Optimist
Published: Wednesday, February 15, 2006
DELTA - The Delta Humane Society is dealing with a whole lot of felines in Ladner.

Last week, the society received a report from a postal courier that a few feral cats appeared to be living in various crawl spaces under a house. It turns out the house didn't have just a few feral felines, but a rather sizable colony of about 30 cats, said society representative Amber Cottle.

The home owner is co-operating and is grateful the society has come in to check the health of the animals as well as to spay and neuter them to ensure the population doesn't grow any bigger, Cottle said. "The resident has five indoor cats of her own that are spayed and neutered and kept inside, but she has been feeding these feral cats, so we've been setting traps to catch these cats."

The society also wants to make sure the cats aren't sick with feline leukemia or AIDS.

There are two types of cats that live outdoors: abandoned domestic house cats that must rely on natural instincts for survival and cats that have spent their entire lives outside fending for themselves.

Cottle noted domestic house cats that were abandoned and had no choice but to live in the wild can usually be brought back into a domestic setting if caught and brought to the shelter.

However, it's a different story when it comes to cats that were born outside.