Fraser Valley rescue unable to take in more cats due to foster shortage

By

MISSION (NEWS 1130) — For the first time ever, a Fraser Valley rescue charity is going to have to stop taking in new cats — and it has a lot to do with people returning to some semblance of pre-pandemic normal as B.C.’s COVID-19 restrictions ease.

Mission’s Cat Therapy and Rescue does not operate a shelter, so relies on volunteers to foster the felines it takes in.

During the pandemic, the number of people who wanted to foster or adopt rescued kitties jumped, according to Executive Director Melina Csontos.

“A lot of people were actually stepping up to foster because they were saying, ‘Hey we’re home, we’re bored, let’s do something,” she explains.

“All of last year was amazing for adoptions, we had never seen it so good with people wanting to adopt and bring a cat into their life.”

Now, with the combination of existing foster-carers wanting to travel, and people returning animals the organization is in crisis.

“Most of our fosters are asking to have the kitties moved and we’re just not seeing as many fosters being able to help us. Everyone is just basically wanting to go on holiday all at once,” she says.

“It’s almost worse than what it was before the pandemic because a lot of people that have gotten cats for perhaps the wrong reasons are now saying, ‘I don’t want them anymore because now I’m busy. I’m going back to work. I want to go on holiday.'”

Related Articles: 

With 300 cats in their care, the charity just can’t take in any more rescues.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever had to even consider something like this. In all the years that we’ve been operating. It’s been really hard to make that call,” Csontos says.

“We’ve tried to never do that because runaway animals, sometimes they have nowhere else to go and they’re left in really dangerous situations. So, we’ve always made an effort to never do that, but we just have no choice here.”

Summer has always been a challenging season, with people leaving town during the exact time that more kittens are being born. But this year Csontos says rescues across the region are facing struggles similar to hers.

“It’s kind of just snowballed into a huge problem. Rescues are really feeling it’s. It’s really tough.”

Related Video:

Csontos is pleading with anyone who wants to help to sign up to be a foster carer. She wants people to know that fostering doesn’t mean taking on all the costs of caring for a pet, the rescues provide food, medicine, and all other essentials. Because rescued animals often require veterinary care, it is recommended that people who sign up to foster are able to drive.

“If you have a spare bathroom, a spare room, or you don’t have other pets — because we do recommend to keep them separate just for safety reasons, you know — we encourage you, please apply.”

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today