The Bonnyville & District SPCA needs your help to feed kitties

The Bonnyville & District SPCA provides a temporary home for cats and dogs and ensures every animal placed up for adoption is healthy.

They are currently calling on the public for help with Kitten and Cat dry food to restock the shelves after a massive kitty intake during the cold weather.

Judith Rodriguez is the Shelter Manager at The Bonnyville & District SPCA.

 “The extreme cold weather has been particularly harsh for the cats in the Lakeland, this winter more than ever there were countless calls for help, the SPCA has taken as many cats as possible, even the storage room has been staged to accommodate more cats,” Rodriguez said. “Operating a full capacity and beyond with so many empty bellies to feed, is emptying our food shelves very fast.”

 The small shelter currently has a max capacity of 30 cats and with the increased demand supplies are dwindling.

 “In wintertime, we receive an average of three calls per day asking to bring a cat,” Rodriguez told Lakeland Connect. “Every time we have an opening someone is called off the waiting list.

 There is a waiting list for those cats that can’t be accepted at the shelter immediately. However, animals in distress and kittens are a priority, Rodriguez added.

 Temperatures in the Lakeland this month have been freezing, and Rodriguez says, “The past few days when we were between -30/-40 the calls multiplied and we took pretty much all the kittens, and a few adults, people can expect to see a few of our adoptable cats with missing tails and ears.”

 The food usage by the kitties at the shelter has increased during the deep freeze.

 “Usually we go through 27 kg “59 Lb.” of dry food every 3-3.5 weeks,” Rodriguez said. “We went through that amount of food in only one and half weeks. Usually, we have enough food to cover our needs for up to a month, this time at this speed we are roughly covered for two weeks.”

Any brand of cat food is very welcome Rodriguez says, new or opened bags.

“Pet Value Bonnyville accepts food orders by the phone or in person,” Rodriguez said. “They also have a donation bin at the store for us.”

As of last Wednesday, the shelter had 37 cats.

“A mother with six kittens, two weeks old was brought a week ago,” Rodriguez told Lakeland Connect. “The storage room had to be staged to shelter this momma because her kittens couldn’t be exposed to the other cats. (Diseases can spread easily when there is a large number of cats in the same space).”

Donations can be made by e-transfer to bonnyvillespcaexec@gmail.com cheques can be mailed to Bonnyville & District SPCA Box 5444 Bonnyville, AB. T9N 2G5, or dropped off at the shelter Tuesday to Sundays they also accept cash, debit, visa, and master card.

“So far the public reaction has been amazing,” Rodriguez said.