SUDBURY -- A Sudbury-based animal rescue group says it's currently dealing with a cat crisis, saying it's seeing some of its highest numbers of cats in years and there is no room left at its facility.
Pet Save is at capacity, sitting at just over 150 cats and kittens.
The organization is calling on the public to adopt, as long as they have the finances.
Jill Pessot is the director of Pet Save in Sudbury.
"We’ve been operating about 19 years, and I said I think this is about the worst year I've seen in about 10 years, as far as volume of kittens," said Pessot.
Pessot recently took to Facebook pleading with people to help out after dealing with a few cases of cat hoarding.
Shelter volunteers are now dealing with a 30 per cent higher volume of felines.
"When you don’t spay, and realize how quickly they can multiply, it gets to an overwhelming level, and that’s when we get the emergency call. But the fact is we’re really trying to catch that beforehand, knowing that one unspayed female over three years can produce about 7,000 cats. This has been a very worrisome season," said Pessot.
Pessot fears the problem could get worse before it gets better. With the Christmas season upon us, she’s urging anyone who might be thinking about getting a free cat or dog to consider if they can afford the vet bills.
18-year-old Chanelle Lafortune saw Pet Save's Facebook post and felt compelled to volunteer.
“I do love animals and rescues, like I have a rescue of my own, and they just, they’re not given that second chance. So, I find Jill, with what she’s created, it helps her give them that," said Lafortune.
(Pet Save volunteer, Chanelle Lafortune December 10, 2019. Ian Campbell/CTV Northern Ontario)
Overcrowding is a similar story at shelters across the city.
Pet Save officials are hoping people will consider fostering an animal or volunteering.
Tristan Tasch is a co-op student that is working with the shelter.
(Tristan Tasch is a co-op student working with a Sudbury animal shelter. December 10, 2019. Ian Campbell/CTV Northern Ontario)
"It’s hard; we have to keep everything clean because there’s so many. There (are) breakouts of certain colds and stuff. If there’s too many cats, we really have to be on washing all the dishes, washing all of the floors, everything," said Tasch.
70 cats and kittens have arrived in the last two weeks alone.
Pet Save will be moving into a bigger building next year, and already, they feel they could fill it.
As always, they’re pleading with people to consider spaying or neutering their pets.
