Community Consultation
5. Feral Cats

There are numerous colonies of homeless feral cat colonies in BC as result of abandonment. These cats face a number of welfare issues from trauma and disease to injury from cat-cat fights. Many are hurt or killed by cars or by predators or are infected with viral disease. Due to the challenging and complex nature of the feral cat issue, the independent panel to the community consultation advised that it could not make informed recommendations.

However, the panel did recognize that the BC SPCA’s Companion Animal Welfare Coordinator, Nadine Gourkow is actively studying feral cat population dynamics and welfare to determine research-based solutions to the problem. To get at the root cause – prevention of abandonment – Nadine recommends that the BC SPCA develop targeted public awareness and education strategies aimed at preventing the abandonment of cats by animal guardians.

To ensure good management and care of existing cat colonies, Nadine recommends that the BC SPCA continue to work cooperatively with cat rescue group. For more information on the public consultation recommendations go to www.spca.bc.ca.