Confiscated felines in need of homes
Delta Humane Society removed over two dozen cats, including a pregnant one, from Tsawwassen residence
Tracy Sherlock, The Delta Optimist
Published: Saturday, September 01, 2007
Twenty-six cats and kittens are looking for new homes. The Delta Humane Society removed all of the cats from a single Tsawwassen residence and they are now trying to adopt most of them into new homes.

Sarah Lowe, shelter manager at the Delta Humane Society, estimates there are at least another 10 cats in the residence.

Neighbours complained about the number of cats being collected by the elderly cat lover. The humane society has placed traps around the residence, which the homeowner has been seen opening and then releasing the trapped cats.

The cats, which include a pregnant female, numerous kittens and some male cats, have all been named for different food groups.

"Any animal here that's named for a food is from that house," Lowe said. "We have the nut babies - Brazil, Walnut and Macadamia. We have the veggie kittens, Pea, Carrot, Sprout and their mom's name is Parsnip. We have Bonbon, Tuna and Pickles who are the same age and then Gum Drop who's pregnant. We have Chili, Pepper and Guava as well."

A Delta bylaw allows each residence to have a maximum of six cats. Some of the cats at the residence are feral, meaning they are not domesticated. With feral cats, sometimes human contact will allow them to become domesticated and therefore adoptable, but not always.

The humane society works with the Tsawwassen Animal Hospital, who will spay or neuter feral cats at no charge to the humane society. For three of the cats found at this residence it appears there is no hope of domestication, however sometimes a feral cat can be adopted out to become a barn cat. As a barn cat it will still need to be fed and watered and looked after if injured. If the feral cats are not adopted as barn cats they will either be taken to a place such as Forgotten Felines, or euthanized.

The reason they are not released to the wild is that a colony of feral cats will keep reproducing and grow rapidly, which can result in cross contamination of diseases with domestic cats. Feline leukemia is one example of a disease that among cats, unlike humans, is contagious.

"It can get out of control," Lowe said. "We had one this year and she was so feral we couldn't even get near it and she was positive for feline leukemia, so we had to euthanize it.

"We have another one who was feral, but is now ready to be adopted out - you'd never know."

There are currently no known colonies of feral cats in Delta, however with such a large and growing population as found at this Tsawwassen residence, without intervention it would be inevitable.

If you are interested in adopting one of the tame kittens or cats that were found please contact the Delta Humane Society at 604-940-7111.