CORNWALL, Ontario – To deal with the spike in homeless cats in the City of Cornwall, the SD&G OSPCA held a surrender day for those who wanted to drop off strays they were caring for.
“Typically, our centres hit a peak at this time of year,” said Tracy McElman, Regional Manager for the OSPCA. “We have had a large number of requests from the public recently.”
Over 170 individuals dropped off nearly 70 cats on Thursday, July 6.
“Animal Welfare is a community responsibility. We are so pleased to see so many members of the community taking the initiative to help the stray cats,” says, Tanya Firmage, Chief of Humane Programs and Community Outreach. “We want to support these residents by helping them care for these cats.”
The cats were examined by OSPCA staff before being sent off to other OSPCA centres throughout the Eastern region of the province.
The OSPCA had to make room at the SD&G branch by moving other animals to other facilities as well, as the branch was already at capacity.
The OSPCA also brought in staff from other centres to help with the processing of all of the homeless cats.
McElman said that there was a good chance that these cats would be adopted. The majority of the cats that were dropped off were kittens who will also be spayed or neutred by the OSPCA.
The OSPCA recently sent a letter to media where they called on the City of Cornwall to formulate a municipal strategy to deal with the problem of homeless cats.
“The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society continues to provide resources to the City of Cornwall to assist city officials in meeting the urgent needs of community animals,” the letter reads. “We will continue to provide resources including food, litter and transition cages to support community efforts.”
