The BC SPCA are going to have their hands full after a man in Houston called the organization asking them to take over 200 cats living on his property.
“This owner contacted our animal helpline requiring some assistance because he is having difficulty caring for these cats,” Eileen Drever, the BC SPCA’s Senior Officer of Protection and Stakeholder Relations, told My PG Now.
“I believe it started off with one cat he took in who had a litter, then people started dumping cats off [at his property],” she continued. “It has reached well over 200 cats and kittens.”
Drever noted that, especially considering the circumstance, the cats are in good condition, well looked after, and very friendly.
For the last few years, the SPCA and animal shelters have been faced with the issue of high demand for them to take in pets coupled with extremely high wait times to see a veterinarian.
“That is a hurdle we have to overcome,” Drever said. “If that means we are shipping cats to the lower mainland to be spayed and neutered, we’ll do it. We have to do what we have to do.”
“It is a large scale. We can’t do that without the public’s help,” she said. “We have to pull staff in from other areas to help us, we have to have veterinarians help examine them, provide them with parasite control and vaccinations – it is very expensive and very time consuming.”
Donations are always welcome and adopting animals to clear up space in shelters is a big help, but the ultimate wish list item Drever and the SPCA are looking for is an indoor space to temporarily house these cats where they can be examined, spayed and neutered, and then dispersed to SPCA locations across the province who have space.
“I know it is a big ask, but that would be truly amazing,” she said. “The sooner we can get that organized, the sooner we can start to bring these cats in.”
In the meantime, the SPCA has provided the man who is surrendering these cats with cat food and litter while they remain on his property.
The last influx of cats like this that Drever has seen happened in the late 90’s.
At the end of the interview, Drever added “I can’t say this enough: spay and neuter, spay and neuter, spay and neuter.”