One man says he found himself in “a crazy situation” after starting to take in abandoned cats during the Covid pandemic.
An animal welfare charity in Western Canada is struggling to get the resources needed to care for some three hundred cats, all in good condition, after a call from a guy who describes himself as “overwhelmed” by the sheer number of cats and kittens in his home.
Bruce Robinson told the B. C. SPCA that he took in abandoned cats during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the burden of conserving them has become a herculean task after wasting his work.
The charity sent staff to his home in the small town of Houston to assess the situation, said Eileen Drever of the BC SPCA. “When asked how many cats he had, I think he responded as if he were counting bubbles in boiling water. “
The cats were sociable and gave the impression of being in good physical condition, she told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “You know, he had a huge center and he took care of them,” she said. “And then they kept multiplying. The cat can have 3 litters a year.
Robinson estimated that the number of cats in her home had risen to 298, 15 pregnant cats expected to give birth in the coming days.
“I found myself in a crazy situation,” he told the station. “I made a bad decision. . . I thought I could take care of the cats. “
He had tried to give the cats away, but to no avail. Instead, he found himself spending thousands of dollars a month (without food himself) to make sure they had the 28kg of food they needed a day and buy cat litter for their 10 boxes of mess.
He said he named both cats. ” I love both of them and they are both singles,” she said. “I wanted to give them a home. “
Drever said the SPCA is scrambling to raise cash and construction that can space out cats as they are evaluated by a veterinarian, vaccinated and spayed or neutered before being put up for adoption at centers across the province.
“It’s a huge task and it’s going to take resources from across the province to bring those animals in,” he said.
Meanwhile, the SPCA helped supply the cats with food, supplies, and clutter. “I had 70 to 80 newborn kittens the other day,” she said. “That’s why we want to act as temporarily as possible. “
She said the fees received by the cat’s parents were not considered to be the one asking for help. “Kudos to him for acknowledging that he was overwhelmed,” she said.
It also turns out that he went out of his way to take care of the animals, even as their population skyrocketed. “I’ve never noticed so many cats in intelligent conditions, they look like they’re in intelligent conditions,” she said.
“And the fact that they’re sociable is incredible. It’s shocking, actually.