CORNER BROOK — Scaredy Cat Rescue found homes for over 200 cats last year.
Now, the group needs a little help from the community to ensure just as many animals are saved again this year.
Janice Higgins founded the organization in 2010 and since that time, Scaredy Cat Rescue has assembled a team of volunteers who help find homes for stray or feral cats, while spaying and neutering some animals before releasing them safely back to their colonies around the city.
The group got called into action last July when over 200 cats were removed from a home on McWhirters Lane in Corner Brook. At the time, donations flooded in as news of the massive need spread throughout the province.
Now, Higgins said the need remains the same and the group is running low on dry and tinned food, as well as clumping and non-clumping litter.
“For when they’re recovering, we need the non-clumping litter because it doesn’t stick to their incisions,” Higgins said. “Every day we’re hearing of more and more cats, so our requirement for food is increasing every day.”
The rescue crew is constantly fundraising in order to finance spaying, neutering and general care of feral cats. While the plan has helped curb the feline population, Higgins said as the organization’s profile grows, more cats are constantly being reported. It’s a need she said was always there.
“Nobody knew where to go or what to do,” she said. “But now, we are acting as a resource for people and we help people help the cats themselves. As people become more aware of us, we become aware of more cats.”
She said the reason many cats are returned to their colonies is that feral cats often cannot adjust to domestic life. But with proper care, she said these cats can live healthy lives.
“They can be very happy, content and healthy outside,” she said. “We have some colony cats that are fat because they’re so well taken care of.”
For more information or to donate, visit the group’s Facebook page, website at www.scaredycatrescue.com or email scaredycatrescue@yahoo.ca.
Thank you so much for expressing your sentiments so well Cat Lady. You speak for many!