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Humane Society looking for new Feral Cat Coordinator

February 4, 2021   ·   0 Comments

If you love cats, or just animals in general, and want to be part of an organization that helps them, the Alliston & District Humane Society is looking for a new Feral Cat Coordinator.

There are colonies of feral cats around the region that can multiply quickly if left unchecked.

The Feral Cat Coordinator is responsible for locating those colonies, trapping cats when needed, and hopefully getting them to a location where they will be safe and taken care of.

Since feral cats are born wild, they are not likely suited for being adopted in the usual sense.

The Humane Society places them in suitable locations like heated barns were they can live and chase mice.

“We’re looking for someone to take over the responsibility of all the feral cat calls we get,” explained Jane Clarke, Vice President of the Alliston & District Humane Society. “We have people who call and had three cats, and now they suddenly have 30. In the past, we’ve done trap and release in several locations around the area. When it’s a colony you have to go in and set the live traps, and get the cats – as many as you can a time. You have to set up appointments for spay and neuter and vaccinations. Then there’s two options – they go back to the colony if there’s a person that will feed them; or the other option is we have a network of places like equestrian barns. We try to find a barn that is heated and has water and food.”

A colony of feral cats can reproduce at an alarming rate. A single cat can produce a litter that will turn into 376 cats in the span of just three years.

“The feral cat coordinator takes the call and goes out and sees what’s going on and what can be done,” Ms. Clarke said. “They lay the traps and transport them for spay and neuter then brings them back. They have to be held for 24 hours for males and 48 hours for females. Then they go to a barn home that has already been set up or they go back to a colony.”

The Feral Cat Coordinator will be trained on how to get this all done.

“We’re looking for somebody who will take the training and will learn how to trap and work with our volunteers to come up with either barn homes or a colony feeder,” Ms. Clarke explained. “Last year we did 100 feral cats, spay or neuter, vaccinations, and into barns or colonies. We need someone to deal with all the calls about feral colonies. Ideally, it will be someone with an interest in animals or cats. Feral cats are the worst-served animals in the province. They’re wild, no one really cares – they’re allowed to be breed. This program really makes a difference.”

The Alliston & District Humane society is an independent organization run entirely by volunteers and is always seeking donations to help with their valuable work.

By Brian Lockhart
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter


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