Furever Friends Cat Rescue received a heartbreaking call last week.
Tracy Harder, the founder of the non-profit organization that provides vetting and homes for rescued cats and kittens, said they got a call from a woman who said she had found a box containing a cat alongside Hwy. 201 west of Altona.
“We dropped everything to see if we could help. We found a taped-up cardboard box alongside the road with several bullet holes on the side of the box. We were completely crushed when we discovered the cat inside the box was dead. The male white and black cat had multiple wounds from the shooting. There was no saving it.”
Harder says they have started a file with the RCMP, who will investigate.
“There is no collar, tattoo, or sign of an owner. Otherwise, the cat appeared to be healthy. There were no outward signs of illness,” Harder says. “We called the Altona Police,and Animal Protection and the RM Animal Control and everybody that we knew that would want to look at the box and the body. We took a bunch of pictures and have kept the cat for now.”
She wonders why anyone would do this to an animal.
“It didn’t look like it had been shot at that site, but that it had been dumped there, which is really concerning. Did they want somebody to go find it? It was traumatizing to the person who found it.”
Harder notes that, sadly, these kinds of discoveries have become a regular thing for the shelter.
“We’ve had three cats with leg traps, and ones who suffer inside live traps. We’ve had so many abandoned in the middle of winter, with their tails and ears missing. We’ve had about four or five botched home neuter jobs already. And we’ve had one cat with its tail cut off with a band. Boxes of kittens left without a mom when they’re too young to care for themselves. It goes on and on.
“We are hoping by sharing this story, it will raise some awareness and end some of the animal cruelty and suffering that goes on.”
Harder explains that there are other options, even if you don’t like cats.
“Our goals are the same. We want less cats roaming around too. Our sole goal right now is spaying and neutering because that is the only way to stop the overpopulation that we’re seeing right now.
“This is part and parcel of owning a pet, including the cost of vetting and feeding,” she adds. “You have to take that into consideration when you get a free kitten. That kitten will be more expensive than you think it will be. This is a living creature.”
Harder notes places like the Winnipeg Humane Society have very affordable spaying and neutering programs.
“If you rescue and want to keep it, they’ll do the vaccinations. There are resources out there.”
Furever Friends Cat Rescue has a program called Finders Keepers.
“We offer them low-cost vetting. We do all the vetting: two vet appointments, including spay and neuter, vaccinations, blood testing for diseases, and parasite control. All of that for $150. We think it’s a fair deal.”
Their Catch and Release program also neuters and spays feral cats. There are about 18 volunteer caretakers in the community who are provided with heated shelters, and they provide food and water for the feral cats in the community.
“When they have new cats show up, they let us know, we trap them, spay, and neuter them, and release them back into their territory. We’re always looking for more volunteer caretakers.”
Harder says along with the obvious benefit of humane treatment for the cats, the biggest benefit of this program for the community is rodent control.
“We see our ferals carrying rodents all the time. A good feral cat, with a shelter and a caretaker, does a phenomenal job on keeping those numbers down. Local gardeners can benefit as well. We’ve had people contact us because they’ve had trouble with bush rabbits in their garden, and they’ve asked for shelters. All they do is set up the shelter and provide kibble. A well-established healthy feral cat will also keep cats from outside of Altona from wandering in. If you have a feral cat shelter in your neighborhood, you will have fewer cats in your neighbourhood.”
Harder is still reeling at the cruelty of what happened to the cat in the box.
“It was so intentional. What state of mind leads somebody to think this is okay? This person owns a firearm. I feel concerned, and our communities feel concerned not just for the animals, but for our own safety as well.”
If you find a feral cat you don’t want, or if you have a cat you can’t afford or no longer have time for, she urges people to reach out to their organization instead of taking extreme measures to get rid of it.
But the biggest message is: spay or neuter your cats.
“Our message obviously isn’t sinking in. We had three mama cats taken in by another rescue just this week. They all had kittens. We currently have 40 cats up for adoption. So we’re focusing on offering an affordable spay and neuter program to the community this year. It’s such a simple solution. And it could have prevented the pain and suffering of that poor cat we found in that box.”
