L~ REG/ONAL DISTRPCT of
Comox-Strathcona
I MEMORANDU M
TO: Chair and Members
Committee of the Whole
FROM: Carol Morfitt
Administrative Assistant
DATE: February 6, 2006
RE: CAT ADVOCATES SOCIETY-FUNDING REQUEST
At the November 10, 2005 meeting of the Comox Valley committee, Carol Shannon appeared
before the conu-nittee as a delegation .
Ms. Shannon provided the members of the committee with a grant request in the amount of
$6,000.00 (copy attached for your reference) .
The following motion was forwarded and adopted by the regional board on November 28, 2005 :
THAT the request for a grant af 46,000 from C'arole Shannon of the Vancouver Island Cat Advoc•ates
Soc•iety to jointly, fund a pilot project to subsidi~e the spaying of owned cats in the Comox Valley be referred
to the 2006 budget discussion.r for con.rideration.
Respectfully submitted,
~~ .
Carol NTor fitt~
Administrative Assistant
600 Comox Road, Courtenay, BC V9N 3P6
Telephone (250) 334-6000 • Fax No. (250) 334-4358
TOLL FREE IN AREA CODE (250) 1-800-331-6007
CAT ADVOCATES SOCIETY
2217 Walnut Avenue Comox BC V9M 1 N6
339-2000 info@catadvocates.ca www.catadvocates .c a
Grant Request : $6,00 0
Purpose: to jointly fund a Pilot Project to subsidize spaying of owned cats in the Comox Valley
Cat Advocates Society has made the following proposal to the BC SPCA (the governing body for
all British Columbia SPCA branches) for an owned cats Spay/Neuter Pilot Project for the Comox
Valley to reduce cat over-population in the Valley :
• that Cat Advocates contribute $3000 to the Spay/Neuter Pilot Project
• that the BC SPCA contribute $3000 to the Project
• that the Pilot Project fund be used to subsidize spay/neuters for low income cat owners with
the owner paying approximately one-half of the spay/neuter cost and the joint Pilot Project
fund subsidizing the balance .
• that the fund be used strictly for spay s
Craig Daniell, CEO, BC SPCA has agreed that the joint initiative will have a significant impact on reducing
the number of unwanted litters (email attached) and is making a proposal to the BC SPCA Board of
Directors at their next meeting on December 9, 2005.
Craig Daniell has suggested, and Cat Advocates agrees, that the Comox Valley Committee of the
Comox-Strathcona Regional District match SPCA and Cat Advocates funds for the project .
At current special "Society rates", a fund of $12,000 would allow for the spaying of 215 cats .
Average litter size is 4 .5 cats . Each mature female cat can produce an average of 2 to 3 litters of kittens
per year (second generation), and some of the cats will even produce 4 litters .
Within 8 months of the first litter of the year being born, the first litter of kittens will be having their first
litters (third generation) .
The first generation of cats will produce over 1900 (2 litters) to over 2900 (3 litters) of kittens .
The second generation of cats can produce over 2000 kittens (approximately 50% or 475 of the 950
kittens in the second generation will be female) .
Spaying 215 mature cats wil l prevent the births of 3900 to 4900 kittens within on e year. Reducing
the number of kittens born i n 2006 will not only reduce the number of surrender ed kittens to the
Comox Valley SPCA, but will also reduce the feral population.
On behalf of Cat Advocates Society and the BC SPCA, I ' m asking the Comox Valley Committee of
the Comox-Strathcona Regional District for a Gran t of $6,000 for the j ointly funded project .
Page 1 of 1
Cat Advocates
From : "Craig Daniell"
To : "VI Cat Advocates Society"
Sent: November 8, 2005 15 :0 7
Subject: Cat Spay Neuter
To whom it may concern.
Please be advised that the BC SPCA and the Cat Advocates Society plan to embark upon a joint project to
sterilize cats in the Comox Valley/Courtenay area during 2006 .
Both parties will be making efforts to raise funds to assist with the cost of such sterilizations . The BC SPCA hopes
to commit a minimum of $3,000 to the project, with a similar amount to be pledged by the Cat Advocates Society .
It is our sincere hope that municipalities will match these funds and that other organizations will contribute
generously to this initiative which will have a significant impact on reducing the number of unwanted litters in the
area in the future .
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require additional information .
Sincerely,
Craig Daniel l
Chief Executive Officer
BC SPCA
1245 East 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5T 1R 9
Ph . 604.647.1322 Fax. 604. 681 . 7022
www spca .bc..ca cdanieli@spca .bc.ca
This electronic mail transmission may be PRIVILEGED and is intended only for the person(s) to whom
it is addressed . Any other distribution, copying or disclosure is strictly prohibited. If you have received
this message in error, please notify me by return electronic mail and delete the message and an y
attachments received with it from your system .
05 .11 .10
Cat Advocates Society
Facts & Figures on Feral Cat Populations in the Comox Valle y
o The issue of unspayed owned cats is very closely inter-related to the feral cat population . The
source of every feral cat is unspayed owned c ats - whether it be one or severa l generations
back. Each stray unspayed cat is only 1 generation away from producing feral kittens and
subsequently a feral colony.
• Feral cat populations are a problem in the Comox Valley in both business and residential a reas. Cat
Advocates is regularly contacted by businesses where feral populations reside and are creating
problems with fleas and odor (from urine , feces , and decomposing dead kittens ) . Residents contac t
us about feral/stray cats destroying their gardens .
• The feral cat population can not be effectively controlled until the owned cat population is controlled
through spaying and neutering .
• Cat Advocates is the only Society dealing with the feral cat population in the Comox Valley .
• At present Cat Advocates has a list of 15 feral colonies in the Comox Valley including colonies in
Courtenay , Comox, Cumberland, Union Bay, Merville , and Black Creek . These are only the fera l
colonies that Cat Advocates has been contacted abou t. Each time Cat Advocates receives media
publici ty , we are contacted about more co lonies .
• Cat Advocates has already completed TNR (trap-neuter -return) in 5 colonies in the past year and
is currently working on TNR in 2 large colonies .
o Three of the feral colonies we've been contacted about started with one stray cat last year and now
have populations of 15-20 cats and kittens .
• Populations in each colony ranges from 5 cats to over 50 cats.
• The feral cat population is out of control in the Comox Valley and the longer action is delayed
in dealing with the over-population, the worse it will become.
Comox Valley SPCA Stats - January 1 - November 8 200 5
Incomi ng
Cats
Kittens
Total Incoming
Adopted/Claimed
Cats
Kittens
Total Adopted/Claimed
Euthanized - Medica l reasons
Cats euthanized
Kittens euthanized
Total Euthan ized
KILLED
Cats - feral
Kittens - feral
Kittens - unweaned
Total Killed
Total
529
315
844
Total
352
290
642
Total
44
12
56
Total
43
14
12
69
Surrendered
209
140
349
Adopted
292
289
581
Feral
43
1 4
57
Stray
320
175
495
Claimed
60
1
6 1
Medic al
44
12
56
Unweaned
12
12