Visitors kept from SPCA cats
DAVIS ... fewer cat colds since change made.
Text By Rachel Stern - Nanaimo News Bulletin
Published: February 25, 2009 3:00 PM
Updated: February 26, 2009 10:29 AM
A scratch behind the ear or kindly cat cuddle is now taboo at the Nanaimo SPCA – unless you’re adopting.
A new policy introduced this month is putting a halt to people stopping by to pet the cats. It is upsetting to Loralee Phillips, who has visited for the past six years.
“We kind of stopped short, our hearts in our throats,” said Phillips who visited with her daughter last week. “[The cats] were so happy to see people and now they are crying and roaring behind the glass.”
Leon Davis, Nanaimo District SPCA manager, said the change is taking place in all modern shelters across the globe to protect cats from the spread of colds.
“I feel badly. It’s tough. It’s daily we get people coming in wanting to know why they can’t pet the cats,” said Davis. “But at the end of the day, if it makes the cats better, it may be an inconvenience to people, but we have to make the priority of the animals come before anything else. That’s why we’re here.”
Because the cats live in a communal room, there is always a chance of a cold spreading, but having about 100 people stopping by on a busy day petting the cats was increasing the risk, said Davis.
The cats often became stressed, leaving them more susceptible to illness. If a cat caught a cold it was quarantined and quarantined cats have no chance of being adopted.
Davis said there are fewer cat colds since implementing the new policy. While there would regularly be about 16 cats in quarantine, there are only four this month.
“It’s always been a battle. We’ve never won that battle, but now that we made this policy change, we are seeing a dramatic decrease,” said Davis.
Phillips said she wants to know why having a policy of washing your hands and arms or using sanitizer between handling each animal isn’t sufficient.
But people don’t just pet the cats with their hands, they pick them up and cuddle them, said Davis.
He said the germs are airborne and end up on people’s clothes, in their hair and on their skin. People don’t see the precautions staff take early in the morning when handling the animals, he said. The staff wear full surgical gowns and boots and change them as soon as they leave one room to enter another.
Phillips said she finds the new policy hard to swallow and hopes it will be reversed.
“What about the affection and love these animals need? The volunteers can only spread themselves so thin,” she said.
Davis said people can still stop by and pet the bunnies, drop off pet food and supplies or become a volunteer if they want to help the animals, he said.
To volunteer, please contact the Nanaimo SPCA at 250-758-8444.