Alberta SPCA removes over 100 cats from home
Posted Feb 10, 2020 3:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – A serious case of cat hoarding resulted in the removal of 143 cats from a home in the greater Edmonton area.
The Alberta Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (SPCA) found the cats to not be in distress and proceeded to remove them gradually from the home after the owner agreed.
“We prefer to work with owners whenever possible to improve conditions for animals,” said Ken Dean, Director of Animal Protection Services for the Alberta SPCA.
“This allows us to reduce the stress on the owner, our Peace Officers, and most importantly, on the animals.”
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Working with the owner, Peace Officers removed the cats from the home over a total of five visits over five weeks.
All were taken to the Edmonton Humane Society where they were checked by a vet, spayed or neutered, and then placed in shelters for rehoming.
“The gradual approach to removing the cats allowed the owner to properly process what was happening, and to reduce the shock of having the cats removed. At one point, the owner even delivered two of the more difficult to catch cats to our office.”
Animal hoarding is, unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence.
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Animals that have not been spayed or neutered can often lead to unplanned litters.
Often, in these cases, the animals end up in unsafe, and sometimes cruel, living conditions.
Pet owners are encouraged to spay or neuter their animals as soon as they are old enough.
In addition to limiting the risk of an accidental litter, it also lowers the risk of testicular cancer in male cases.
The cost of the vet care and boarding of the over 100 cats, in this case, is expected to cost the Alberta SPCA over $25,000, and as such, has the SPCA appealing for donations.
