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Langley shelter holds Kitten Roundup

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Three abandoned litters of kittens is three too many for the Langley Animal Protection Society.

The local animal welfare organization is holding a Kitten Roundup to rescue unwanted cats, and to encourage residents to spay and neuter their pets.

The roundup, on July 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will allow no-questions-asked drop-off of kittens, moms, and pregnant cats at the Patti Dale Animal Shelter.

There will be no fees at all, said Sean Baker, director of the shelter.

The goal is to prevent people from dumping cats. It happened again Monday afternoon at Aldergrove Lake Park. A batch of kittens was found sealed in a Rubbermaid container with a small bowl  of water.

Anyone who can’t make it to the Aldergrove shelter can call a new Kitten Roundup Hotline at 604-332-4449, and a team will be sent to pick up the animals and drop off spay and neuter vouchers.

It’s a proactive measure designed to prevent incidents LAPS has been dealing with in recent weeks. At the start of the month, 10 kittens were found in a sealed box behind a church in Langley City. Three escaped when a Good Samaritan heard noise inside and opened the box. One of the remaining seven never recovered from the ordeal and died shortly after being taken to LAPS.

While the six remaining kittens – which were from two litters – were recovering, LAPS workers were alerted to another litter left in a Rubbermaid container in an Aldergrove park. These kittens had water, but were otherwise on their own.

The idea of the Kitten Roundup was tossed around between LAPS Jayne Nelson, Baker, and Shelly Roche, whose Tiny Kittens Facebook page regularly features cats from the local shelter.

It may be a big project for LAPS.

“We have a little bit of trepidation, because we have no idea how big the demand will be,” said Baker.

If there are more than five or six litters dropped off, LAPS will definitely have to lean on its volunteers to take them in as foster cats.

LAPS already has a network of volunteers who foster their cats and dogs, and 10 new volunteers have been recruited in the past few days to deal with any extra demand from the Kitten Roundup.

Because it costs LAPS to rescue cats – it costs approximatley $1,300 per litter for spaying, neutering, feeding, and vet care – LAPS is putting the proceeds of its Dog Dayz of Summer proceeds toward the Kitten Roundup. Cedar Rim Nursery will host the annual event on Aug. 8.

Dr. Renee Ferugson of Mountain View Veterinary Hospital will webcast spay and neuter surgeries and answer questions live on Thursday, July 24 to help promote the roundup.

Throughout the day on July 26, LAPS will be webcasting kitten intake exams, talking about spay and neuter programs, and answering questions live on the web at http://tinykittens.com/roundup.  

For more information, visit lapsbc.ca/kittenroundup.



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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