A group of volunteers taking care of the West Parry Sound District’s stray cats may have reached the end of their leash.
There is apparent demand for what the non-profit Parry Sound Animal Rescue Services does. Day after day, residents contact them asking if they could please take in a starving, freezing, ill or unwanted feline. Their shelters, put together in the spare room and garages of dedicated volunteers, are quickly filling up. Their ability to market their cause, and find homes for the cats, is limited.
Not everyone is a cat lover, but for the thousands of area residents who are, building a shelter for stray dogs while ignoring the growing number of abandoned cats doesn’t make sense.
The Town of Parry Sound and its municipal neighbours who have worked together to run a temporary dog pound after the Ontario Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) closed its shelters doors are to be commended. Town of Parry Sound council members and staff suggesting a more permanent municipal dog pound is a worthwhile investment also deserve some credit. Hopefully, neighbouring governments see the merits of that plan as well.
But cats have also been domesticated for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Like domestic dogs, they do not fare well in the great outdoors. If they are living outside, it’s because some irresponsible pet owner abandoned them, or failed to spay or neuter their pet. Cat owners, and they are an extremely passionate and empathetic segment of our community, will be the first to tell you – the plight of stray cats is our responsibility.
Building a shelter for dogs is only going halfway. Yes, cats can take their toll on shelter space and budgets – just ask the Parry Sound animal group. But that is proof of the very real need for a solution – any solution. The volunteers are there – again, turn to the hardworking members of the animal rescue group and their following of supporters. Even with a cap on space for cats, anything municipalities can do to alleviate the problem would be welcome news for cat lovers.
Continuing to provide, and increasing funding for spay and neuter programs as well as education programs for pet owners should also remain part of the solution. That said, no shelter for domestic animals should fall solely on the shoulders of the Town of Parry Sound. The strays, dogs or cats, come from throughout the district. They are living under backyard buildings, roaming rural communities and Parry Sound developments. Some of them are accumulating in the caring homes of residents, who just can’t take in anymore, but just can’t say no. Partnerships between municipalities might be at an all-time low as local governments exchange words over the use and operational costs of sports facilities. There are numerous projects of equal importance that should have the backing of all of our municipal governments. Here’s one more to add to the list.
Hopefully Parry Sound, and its neighbours, can get this one right.