Our local Happy Cat Sanctuary is currently experiencing a winter season like no other with over 130 cats in their care, and that number is growing by the day.
Long-time foster and volunteer at Happy Cat Sanctuary, Debbie Jensen explained that she has never seen this many cats in need before.
“Kitten season is usually finished by now, but we're still having kittens born. So that means there are feral cats dropping kittens in this weather and that's not good for kittens.”
Jensen continued to say that another factor is people getting cats and surrendering them when they are tired of taking care of them. She said it is an ugly truth but happens often.
“But also, because we had such a hot summer this year, the feral cats will breed a second time. Usually, they have a spring litter and that's it, but no, because it was such a warm summer, cats will breed a second time.”
With so many cats at the sanctuary and being fostered, Happy Cat is in desperate need of litter, canned food, and monetary donations.
Jensen explained that just this morning, she found two kittens abandoned in a dumpster behind a grocery store. She said these kittens were domestic and dumped there probably because someone couldn’t find homes for them.
They were malnourished, and this is where the canned cat food comes in. Jensen explained that canned cat food is important for sick kittens as it is another source of water intake for them. Oftentimes, Jesen explained, kittens will stop drinking when they are sick because they are too weak.
Monetary donations are always needed because of vet bills. The sanctuary covers the cost of all medical injuries cats may have when they are in their care. This is always a high cost and becomes even more important in the winter when many cats come in with frostbite.
“Right now, here in Strathmore, we're only accepting in town cats or emergencies, like say a cat gets hit on the highway, we will take that cat in. If an owner passes away, we will take their cats but we are currently not taking any surrendered cats right now.”
Jensen said that while they are not taking surrenders, they do have a list of surrounding shelter organizations that may be able to help, but many others are also overflowing with furry felines as well.
While litter and food are important, Jensen explained that they are in need of people to help take care of the cats, and provide them with love and a safe place. Jensen has been a “maternity mom” foster for the last three years, helping to care for kittens and pregnant cats who need more attention.
“Fosters will take the cat home and they look out for it. If the cat needs medication, the foster will get the medication and administer it. Then they have to get it to vet appointments until it's spayed or neutered. Then we put the cat up for adoption, so you'll probably have a commitment of at least 2 - 4 months to look after a foster cat. It really depends on how young it is,” Jensen continued.
The sanctuary will not put cats up for adoption until they are spayed or neutered, have all their shots, and are microchipped. Unfortunately, adoptions have declined greatly at the sanctuary.
“Well, I think COVID-19 could cause a lot of problems because for just about two years now nobody filled out applications and some of our fosters have moved. We also struggle with volunteers because we can't have the place open for people to come in and talk to them about fostering. We don’t have enough volunteers to be open all day, and it is currently by appointment only.”
For more information about where to drop off donations, fostering, and adoption call the sanctuary at 403-804-8571.
Fri, May 3, 10:00 AM
