Fight to rescue cats goes on
By Krista Siefken - Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial
Published: August 24, 2008 7:00 AM
Updated: August 26, 2008 11:07 AM Nicole Dean is on her 15th cat.
“I've trapped 14 cats so far, since I started in July. I didn't think I could do it after the first one, but what else can I do?” she says as she outfits the trapping cage with food, water, blankets and towels.
Dean is working with Cowichan Cat Rescue, trapping feral cats in the trees behind her workplace. The cats are spayed or neutered, and given medical treatment if needed, and then released back into the area.
The CCR's catch-spay/neuter-release program is one option for feral cats. The alternative is catch-and-euthanize — something Dean says she could never do.
“Some of these cats are really nice cats. Some are litter trained, so you know they came from homes,” says Dean. “But their families just dump them off here. There are people dropping off pregnant cats.”
In fact, Dean counted 28 kittens recently.
“It's really sad. It was getting to the point where I was going to quit my job, because I just couldn't watch it anymore.”
But then she found out about Cowichan Cat Rescue. Since then, she's helped out in any way she can. For example, if she can catch kittens before six weeks of age, they can be adopted out, while the wild adult cats are treated by a veterinarian and released with a clipped ear to identify them as already-treated cats.
CCR's Penny Simpson said the feral cat colony behind Dean's workplace is “far from” an isolated issue in Cowichan.
“We've been dealing with this for 10 years now,” she told the News Leader Pictorial. “Now we're seeing fewer kittens, which leads us to hope we're making inroads, but we've still got feral colonies. One that I know of has 40 breeding females.”
The key, Simpson said, is preventing these colonies from expanding by spaying and neutering the animals.
“These cats are living on the edge, living short, miserable little lives,” she said. “We want to at least give them a healthy life.”
And, she added, CCR couldn't do that without dedicated volunteers like Dean and organizations like Duncan Pets.
“The kittens, if caught by six weeks of age, go to foster homes, and are tamed,” Simpson explained. “At eight weeks, they're spayed or neutered, de-wormed and they receive all their vaccinations, and then they go for adoption at Duncan Pets. They do a phenomenal job for us.”
As do local vets, Simpson added.
“The vets give us huge breaks (on vet bills),” she said. “We couldn't do this without them.”
Another element to CCR's success is the group of people who regularly leave cat food out for the feral animals, to prevent them from getting into garbage cans and dumpster bins. In fact, to ensure the cats remain healthy, volunteers will only release cats into these areas with reliable food sources.
These factors prevent the euthanasia of Cowichan's feral cats, which is important to Cowichan Cat Rescue. While Simpson said CCR has “a great working relationship with the SPCA,” the SPCA doesn't deal with feral cats. CCR, meanwhile, has a mandate to only deal with feral cats, leaving the two animal organizations with different priorities.
Anyone interested in assisting Cowichan Cat Rescue or fostering a cat can contact 250-743-6500, or can make a donation at Duncan Pets. Similarly, donations of cash and Canadian Tire money can be dropped off at any veterinarian office in the valley, and bottles and cans can be donated under the Cowichan Cat Rescue's account at the Bottle Depot.
“Some people donate $1.25 worth of cans, and they want to know if it makes a difference,” said Simpson. “Yes, it does make a difference.”