Mark Hagen and Nutrience donating food to Cat Lovers Rescue group

Sheltering Unwanted Cats at Cat Lovers Rescue

Pages: 1 2

“Nathalie used to have a rescue centre in Verdun, a suburb of Montreal. About 10 years ago, she was evicted and appealed to me for help. We took in all her cats and sheltered them at one of our warehouses for about a year until she found a new place. During that time, the cat population doubled to about 300, as she took in more abandoned cats,” said Mark Hagen, Director of Research at Rolf C. Hagen Inc. and Hagen Avicultural Research Institute (HARI)

Hagen’s latest donation, made on behalf of Nutrience, included a pallet full of Nutrience food, which was urgently needed as the shelter recently ran out of supplies.

“Mark was my last hope and he delivered the food just in time. Mark is a man with a heart. He has always answered my calls for help,”
said Nathalie.

Hagen also held a garage sale for employees at its head office in Montreal and donated all the money from the sale to
Cat Lovers Rescue.

Call for Action

The scratches on Nathalie’s forearms are telling signs that she’s taking matters into her own hands. She’s dealing directly with the consequences of decisions made by well-intentioned people who choose to walk away from their cats due to unforeseen circumstances.

If our society will be judged by how it treats its animals, ours will be judged harshly when it comes to how it handles cats. But if Nathalie has her way, the situation can get better.

Nathalie believes that the problem can be alleviated with the help of pet owners, government agencies, and vets.

“Abandoned cats are victims of inaction. Cat owners must take action to spay or neuter their cats. The city and province should take action to implement low-cost spaying and neutering,” said Nathalie.

National Problem

Mark Hagen agreed and also noted that cat overpopulation is not just a local problem, it’s rampant across Canada.

He cited a 2012 report by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS), which says that there were about 600,000 homeless cats in Canadian shelters in 2011, two times more than the number of dogs. Only 44% of sheltered cats were adopted out, the rest were either euthanized or remained in no-kill shelters.

The report also states that “if large-scale, targeted action is not taken, the cat overpopulation problem will worsen.”

“Cat ownership comes with many responsibilities. It must be viewed as a lifelong family commitment and every effort should be made to ensure proper and humane care for all felines,” said Mark Hagen.

Dr Liz O'Brien, a veterinarian who started Care for Cats-a group committed to encouraging cat owners to take their felines to the vet-noted that while there are more cats than dogs in Canada, less than half of visits to the vet are for felines. Her organization aims to improve the frequency of cat visits to the vet by making clinics more cat-friendly.

“Companies such as Hagen can only do so much to help support rescue centres across Canada. I think government agencies, as well as vets, breeders, pet shops, and shelters like Nathalie’s should come together in every region to address and find solutions for controlling the cat population, thus relieving the burden on cat shelters. Where none exists, a central animal care facility funded by cat licensing could be a practical solution,” said Mark Hagen.

“Some cities, such as Calgary, are being proactive and achieving success. Their cat control program could serve as a good model to educate, promote, and support responsible cat ownership,”
Mark concluded.

Until long-term solutions are found, the problem will persist, and cat populations at rescue shelters like Cat Lovers Rescue Group will continue to grow exponentially.

Recommendations for Curbing Cat Overpopulation

The CFHS urges shelters, municipalities, rescues, Trap-Neuter-Return groups, veterinarians, all communities and individuals who value cats to take the following steps to help reduce cat overpopulation: