Quadra Cat Rescue puts out plea for pet owners to spay and neuter early
With so many families adopting pets during the COVID-19 pandemic, Quadra Cat Rescue is putting out an urgent plea to remind people to spay and neuter early – before pets have a chance to reproduce.
“Traditional fundraising methods are currently unavailable, so we have even less money to help pay for surgeries,” says Janet Massey, one of the rescue volunteers. “Because cats can reproduce so quickly, it’s very important that people make arrangements to spay and neuter early – by six months of age – so that, together, we continue to work toward reducing the number of homeless cats and kittens on Quadra.”
She points out that it’s been approximately six months since the pandemic started a wave of pet adoptions, and that kittens adopted earlier this year could be ready to reproduce by now.
“If pet owners don’t act quickly, we could be dealing with a major overpopulation problem again, and that would be devastating, for the cats, and for the rescue volunteers, after all the hours and hours and hours of work to deal with almost 1,000 cats and kittens since 2009,” she says.
“One unfixed pair of cats and their offspring can add up to 500 kittens – within just three years,” adds volunteer Valerie van Veen. “Even a few kittens left unfixed can have multiple births, (two litters a year with an average of five kittens per litter), which would set us back years.”
Fundraising at events like the Saturday Market, the Fall Fair and running the concession during performances at the Community Centre won’t likely be available for a long time yet, which will leave even less money to help manage a population boom.
“It’s not reasonable to expect the same level of donations when so many people are struggling with financial difficulties due to the pandemic as well. As a community, we simply can’t afford to go backward,” van Veen says, adding: “We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support and funding we have received this year so we can continue our work.”
This year, the SPCA provided a $700 grant, and Area Director Jim Abram arranged for $1,500. Together, the funding provides basic vet care for approximately 11 cats or kittens.
“We’ll keep doing what we can to help the island’s homeless cats and kittens, including trying to continue to subsidize the cost of fixing local pet cats and kittens, but we expect to be short on funds for some time,” van Veen sums up. “We’re putting out an urgent plea for everyone to do what they can to slow the overpopulation problem. Please help us make sure kittens get fixed as soon as possible, including any kittens offered ‘free to a good home’.”
In 2019, Quadra Cat Rescue:
- arranged 55 spay and neuters
- adopted out 15 kittens
- transported 32 kittens to a partner adoption organization in Victoria
- took nine older cats into foster care
- paid for extensive emergency care for two cats
- arranged to feed and look after eight poorly-socialized pet cats left on their own after their owner died
- Quadra Cat Rescue continues to support approximately 17 fixed community cats in five colonies.
How you can help:
- Volunteer or donate through PayPal, Coastal Community Credit Union or TruValue Spirit Board Points
- Adopt an already-fixed adult cat from Quadra Cat Rescue to free up foster space