The feral cats living in Summerland on Rosedale Avenue will have a better life thanks to Jennifer and Duncan McTaggart, the owners of Tire Craft Auto Centre who partnered with AlleyCATS Alliance to trap the colony of cats in a TNR.
TNR stands for Trap Neuter Release. It means the cats were humanely trapped, neutered and then released.
No longer able to reproduce, the cats will now be healthier, fighting between the male cats reduced and the females will not be producing kittens every five to six months. This means the colony will eventually die out, as long as no new cats are introduced.
People living in the area may start to see cats that have one ear that is shorter that the other.
This is not a birth defect but is what is called an “ear tip” which is the removal of part of the cat’s right ear, done while anesthetized during their surgery.
Ear tipping is relatively painless for the cats and does not effect their beauty. Ear tipping is a standard recognized practise for identifying feral cats that have undergone surgery for spaying and neutering.
The tipped ear enables people to visually identify from a distance that the cat has already been altered thus preventing the cat from being retrapped and undergoing unnecessary stress or even surgery.
A total of 11 cats from this colony have been altered. This translates into hundreds of kittens that have now been spared the life of a feral cat, and also into fewer problems for property owners.
Alley CATS Alliance asks that if the public see these cats, they treat them kindly and respectfully.
The cats in this colony will continue to be monitored to ensure that the cats remain healthy and if any health issues should arise they can be trapped and taken into a vet for treatment.
AlleyCATS Alliance is looking for help with the future trapping, transporting and care of the feral cats.
AlleyCATS is a registered charity and will issue tax receipts for donations. To help or want to learn more please contact www.alleycatsalliance.org or call 250-462-8195 and leave a message.