Paradise Pet Centre and the Barrhead Animal Rescue Society (BARS) have taken a big step together to help rescued and abandoned cats.
The rescue society and the St. Albert pet store will collaborate to find homes for cats found west of the city, near Barrhead.
The project started on July 23 when two adult female cats from BARS, Lilly and Lucy, were placed into their enclosure in the public area of the store. They were put on a specialized diet in the weeks leading up to their change of venue and were also quarantined at the store for a week.
Adrian Theroux, general manager at the pet store, said BARS founder Terry Colborne came in one day to ask if he could hang some posters in the entrance of the store and to buy some supplies. After a conversation with Kelly Weins, who is responsible for animal care at the store, a connection between the rescue society and the store was forged. They were presented with a chance to address a growing animal health issue in the greater Edmonton area, Theroux said.
“In the last year or two, the number of cats in the Edmonton area has just skyrocketed,” he said.
For Colborne, the partnership means finding homes for cats in society care as well as expanding the exposure of BARS to the public in the greater Edmonton area.
The rescue society has found success in adopting both cats and dogs since its inception in Dec. 2009 but they continue to grapple with a slower adoption pace for cats. Colborne said that with many feral and farm cats running free around Barrhead, it’s tough to change attitudes in the area towards animal care.
“They fall into a different target market,” he said, adding many people in rural Alberta simply don’t see the need to spay or neuter their pets and are not willing to pay for a sterilized cat either.
Colborne said the situation is different in cities like St. Albert, where people are looking to prevent unwanted breeding in both cats and dogs. He’s hoping the city’s pet-friendly people support the new project and that it raises the awareness of the society as it continues to grow.
“We would meet a heck of a lot of people [at the store] in a short time who were specifically there to see pets,” he said.
To assist the animal rescue society, all proceeds from BARS adoptions at Paradise Pet Centre will be returned to the Barrhead-based organization. The store’s staff is also looking to maximize the visibility and care they can give to the animals to make the project a long-term success.
“We want to make sure they’re not in cramped quarters,” the general manager said. “We want to make sure the quality of care is 100 per cent.”
To that end, the care staff monitor the animals’ food intake, feed them only high quality food and minimize the number of times they’re handled. Weins said in doing so, they lessen the stress on the animal, which hopefully will quickly find a welcoming home.
“The sooner they’re in a house environment, the better it’s going to be for these cats,” she said.
Weins said the cats she’s encountered from rescue societies are some of the friendliest and most grateful an owner will ever meet. She feels they return the care they receive after being rescued from a life of hardship.
While the adoption project is in its infancy, both parties are hoping to a see a flurry of successful adoptions that will sustain the program at the store. For Colborne, Theroux and Weins, seeing cats go to caring homes is the ultimate goal. “Partnering up with humane societies is the way pet stores should go,” Theroux said.
Colborne sees the animal rescue society as having a role in promoting social change that can only happen over the long-term in rural communities in Alberta.
“I recognize that we weren’t going to change attitudes and minds in the short term,” he said. “We’re just here to do what we can for the animals.”
