Dear Editor,
This is an open letter to the person or people who drove around dumping young kittens off all over Langley last month.
We were only able to find and rescue one of the two kittens dumped in the parking lot at 200th Street and 86th Avenue.
As soon as the Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) received a report on the two terrified kittens found near the Starbucks on Nov. 8, their TNR Team was deployed.
I was one of a few volunteers who spent a combined 80 hours over a three-week period, searching, handing out flyers, setting up feeding stations and shelters. We were only able to find one – she’s a treasure, an absolute delight, and is currently being treated at the LAPS shelter until she’s ready to be adopted.
It was a miracle to have found her, after a week during the first Arctic front of the season, and we are happy about that.
But we are devastated that we couldn’t find her littermate, and the reality is that he likely either perished in the bitter cold, was caught by predators, or was hit by a car.
Two kittens dumped at Derby Reach Regional Park were found and are now safely in foster care with a LAPS volunteer, and will be available for adoption soon.
We hope there weren’t more dumped there that weren’t found.
One was found in Walnut Grove near Telegraph Trail, and is also safely in foster care with a LAPS member. Again, we hope there weren’t more that we didn’t find.
The four kittens that were found coincidentally look very similar – fluffy coats, with very fine facial features – and are the same age, which is why some of us believe they’re from the same litter, and that some one split them up and dumped them all over town, leaving them very little chance of survival.
I can’t imagine how someone could do that to tiny, defenseless kittens. Young kittens are unable to regulate their body temperature, and it’s a miracle that the four even survived, and that only the one was lost.
We’re also concerned about the mama cat. To avoid this happening to her again, and your having to “dispose†of kittens again, please have her spayed.
If you can’t afford to get her spayed, many shelters provide a number of certificates each month for a free spay or neuter – please call your local shelter, and ask them if they have such a program.
If you no longer want her, or are no longer able to care for her, please surrender her to a no-kill shelter, where they can find a loving home for her. There are two no-kill cat shelters in Langley: LAPS, at 604-857-5055, and CARES at 604-532-5632.
Anyone who finds themselves in a situation where they have kittens or cats that they simply don’t want should have a heart, and rather than dumping them like garbage, please drop them off somewhere where they can get the immediate care and attention they need?
If you can’t take them to one of the local shelters, please drop them off at a pet shop or a veterinary clinic, where the staff will know what to do with them.
And please don’t do it after hours, leaving them in the cold to die.
While some might find it morally offensive to abandon kittens, it is not a criminal offense. You will not be in any trouble. So please take a little care and make sure they get the chance at life that they deserve.
It is a sad fact that some people think cats and kittens are disposable. But please understand that they are living beings that feel fear just as we do, that feel cold and hunger and pain.
Abandoning babies that cannot fend for themselves is the worst thing that could possibly be done to them. Give them a chance.
Lawana Quest, Langley