The Prince Rupert SPCA would like to remind locals that trapping cats or kittens and relocating them is not a proper solution to help minimize the stray cat problem and it is not the legal solution, either.
“Trapping and relocating cats is not the responsible thing to do, and it’s not legal. People who get caught doing it would definitely be facing charges,” said Prince Rupert Branch SPCA Manager Lindsay Vincent,
“I know of people in town that are trapping these cats and moving them. They need to be reminded that it is illegal and they need to stop.”
Vincent is making this public to people after a recent incident took place. A Good Samaritan spotted a cat out on the highway and took time to capture it. The cat was said to look unhealthy, so the capturer brought it home with them instead of risking the health of animals currently residing at the SPCA. Once the cat’s health was better, the Good Samaritan called the SPCA and informed them of the finding and the animal’s tattoo identification number. Luckily, the cat had been adopted for the SPCA Prince Rupert Branch so employees at the SPCA were familiar with the owners. The cat was returned to its home, which Vincent says unfortunately is an uncommon occurrence.
“How the cat got out the highway no one knows. A strong possibility is that the cat was trapped and relocated out the highway. There’s a possibility it was hanging around somebody’s house that doesn’t care for cats,” explained Vincent.
If someone is having an issue with a cat and decides to trap the animal, they must under law make arrangements to bring it to the SPCA. Cats brought into the SPCA are put on a four-day stray hold, then they will either go up for adoption or if they are not adoptable for health reasons they are euphonized. If the cat capacity is full in the SPCA, Vincent says thankfully the Wildlife Shelter is another option.
“It’s not [the Wildlife Shelter’s] responsibility to take in stray cats, they’re just great people that have opened up their facility to help re-home cats,” Vincent mentioned.
Vincent says that the SPCA is not at full capacity yet, but being that kitten season is here, the likelihood is that it will be full
soon.