Cats need a helping paw

Peter Clough, The Province
Published: Sunday, November 27, 2005

Several people wrote in after last week's piece about the Hearts on Noses refuge for Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. They wanted to tell me about the crisis at Forgotten Felines, the Richmond cat shelter run by Penny March.

Penny's two-storey backyard shelter is home to more than 300 cats -- who otherwise would probably have been put to death.

"Most of my cats are trapped in East Vancouver," says Penny. "Several vets [have sent] me cats that people wanted euthanised for no reason. I also do the drug houses on welfare Wednesday and clean out all the animals."

The SPCA has often had harsh words for cat shelters, but Penny says she just can't bear to see so many pets being put down.

"I cannot say no to a cat in need," she says.

The problem is this: In July, Penny March was seriously injured in a car accident and can do virtually no work at her shelter. Several volunteers have put in extra hours, but they're desperately in need of help.

Cat lovers? More details at: www.forgottenfelines.ca
© The Vancouver Province 2005