Adopt-A-Pet Pet Rescue in Lucknow has been forced to stop rescuing cats because the shelter is at capacity.
Founder Cathy Newell Nicholson is pleading for donors, foster homes and adoptions.
"We take in approximately 100 cats a year, and we do about 300 spay and neuters on the ferals as well," she shared. "So that would be close to 400 and we usually take in an average of 100 dogs a year, as well."
Adopt-A-Pet can no longer keep up with the costs of sheltering the animals and providing veterinary care.
Newell Nicholson said they had to make the heartbreaking decision to stop accepting any more cats.
"Post COVID, it seems like a lot of people got cats and kittens and then didn't fix them, and now they've dumped them on the street," she revealed. "So the numbers are absolutely flabbergasting out on the streets. We are all full, every single rescue that I know for miles and miles around, we can't keep up with even the spays and neuter appointments. And then we're doing several 100 trap neuter release appointments per year."
She pointed out there has been an explosion of feral cats in communities across Midwestern Ontario, but municipalities are not addressing the issue.
"Basically, the concern is, if we can't do intakes, and there's hundreds of cats and kittens on the street, and none of them get fixed, obviously it's going to be even worse than ever," she warned. "In the next three months, even, because the cats only have a 63 day timeframe before they have kittens."
Adopt-A-Pet has also had an increase in dogs coming to the shelter, especially what she calls breeder releases.
"The PAWS, that had taken over animal welfare, had went and posted a notice on one breeder's property, and instead of the guy making sure that the animals were up to code and ready for him them to be inspected, he released 40 of them throughout the area in Hanover and beyond," Newell added. "And the real question is, is how many were released? Like many were found, but nobody knows how many were released in the first place, and we've seen multiple examples of that over the last few years."
She said adoption fees don't cover their costs, especially with older dogs let go by breeders, who need more care.
"It's very maddening, because the townships issue the breeding licenses, the permits," she explained. "Then basically all of these animals, in the last couple years, you'll notice that there's been mass amounts of animals dumped, anywhere from 10 to 40 dogs by certain breeders. Even with eyewitnesses seeing the people dumping them and having the license plate of the vehicle and/or a picture, nothing has ever happened to any of these breeders."
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