On Saturday, Nov. 3, an enormous brown tabby checked into the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). The chubby cat, now dubbed B. Gee for "big guy" had turned up in a local resident's backyard. With his clean coat, big belly and love of pats, supervisor Shannon Broderick said she saw he hadn't been a stray for long.
"He was just crying," she recalled. "He was quite distraught. He'd lost somebody."
Sure that B. Gee's family was equally distraught; she put up posters of him around town. She also called every pet owner in Squamish that had reported a missing cat with any likeness to B. Gee.
But nobody claimed him. Like many cats in town that end up at the SPCA, Broderick said he was likely left behind after a move.The town's climbing population has been felt in the 40-foot SPCA trailer where 20 cats now fill two small rooms of perches and cardboard dens. Broderick said the centre has hit capacity and needs more funding to accommodate the stray and surrendered cat population.
On Saturday Dec. 8, she is inviting community members to find out more about the non-profit service by taking part in a Pats and Purrs Day onsite. The open house is intended to raise support for an SPCA expansion, while also garnering the interest of potential volunteers and pet owners. With enough funding, Broderick said she would like to add a sick room to separate cats with health problems. She said she would also like to see an educational room created for youth to learn more about responsible pet ownership.
The day is an important time to get a little extra attention for cats such as B. Gee, who frequently plops his body with a loud thud near Broderick. Despite the care of staff, she said the packed trailer is an unnatural environment that puts the animals on edge.She points to a den where a Siamese-cross named Sandy crouches with wide-eyes.
"He's depressed," said Broderick. "He's scared in here."To ease his anxiety, she has put a cloth with peppermint oils in the den with him. It is a poor replacement for one-on-one attention.
"There have been Saturday and Sundays that go by and nobody comes in," she said. On these days, the cats can count on the company of Samantha Wilhelm. The 23-year-old used to visit the centre as a child. When she got older, volunteering turned into a part-time job.
"It's hard not to take them all home," Wilhelm said when describing her shifts.These days, several cats are on a waiting list to get into the centre. While 80 per cent of the cats are strays, the waiting list is filled by owners with problems ranging from pet allergies to disapproving landlords to fears about new babies cohabitating with the animals.
If Broderick can't convince these families to change their minds, there will be even more cats in the community looking for a home.
Mayor Ian Sutherland said the district could considering helping with the costs of an expansion if the SPCA brought a formal request to council. With the 2008 budget already under discussion, he said now in the time to ask for support. Pats and Purrs Day will run at the SPCA trailer on Government Road from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8.
