The city, pet stores and pet owners in Castlegar need to take more responsibility for the spaying and neutering of pets. At least when you adopt an animal from the SPCA, the animal is vet-checked, vaccinated and most importantly, spayed or neutered.
I am always cautious when I hear people say they would rather buy a cheap pet from the pet store than pay an adoption fee at the local shelter. Is that person really going to go ahead and spend the money (over $200) to have that cat fixed?
Statistics show that you are more likely to get your pet fixed and provide it with necessary vet care if you have paid an adoption fee. And it has nothing to do with how much money you have or don't have. I know lots of low-income folks who take good care of their pets and budget for the various costs associated with having one.
Also, the city’s nuisance cat bylaw is archaic. People in Castlegar have a right to know that their pets can be legally trapped by anyone in their neighborhood who doesn’t like their cat on their property or in their garden.
I know several people who have found out that their cat is at the pet store after being trapped by one of their neighbours. I am also very concerned about those cats that are trapped but and then simply dumped and left to fend for themselves or die.
Over the last seven years that I’ve lived in Castlegar I have found and heard of many dumped cats on top of the Bombi, in Pass Creek and Robson, just to name a few areas.
Were city traps used to “relocate” these much loved pets whose only error was having an owner that did not keep them inside or have them fixed so they would not wander?
I agree that there are so many more questions to be answered. I think we can be doing better and more for these animals in our community.
Lorna Whitcutt
Castlegar