Petrolia-area volunteers face ‘out of control’ feral kitten population

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A group of volunteers caring for feral cats in Lambton County has teamed up with local Pet Valu stories to hold adoption days for kittens in June and July.

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Members of Caregivers of Petrolia Ferals, a cat rescue group that began about three decades ago, will be at Pet Valu in Corunna June 3, its Lambton Mall location June 10 and the Lakeshore location July 8 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.

The aim is to find homes for the large number of kittens currently in the group’s care.

“It has really gotten out of control,” said group member Julie Medeiros. “In 30 years, this is the worst kitten season we have ever encountered. We have now 12 mothers with unborn kittens in our care.”

There is a $175 adoption fee per kitten at the events. The kittens receive a health check by a veterinarian, spay or neutering, rabies vaccine, de-wormer, as well as flea, tick and ear mite treatment.

Kittens born in the group’s care are used to people and are adoptable, Medeiros said.

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The group looks after feral cats throughout the county and also operates a cat rescue, she said.

“It started off 30 years ago with a gentleman from Reece’s Corners looking after a bunch of cats that were in Petrolia and needed food and shelter,” she said.

“And then a couple of ladies came onboard” and began spaying and neutering the cats to control the population, Medeiros said.

The effort evolved over the years and attracted support, including a shelter that was built and donated to the group by Shell, she said.

The colony in Petrolia is “dwindling down” as a result of the efforts to have the cats spayed and neutered, Medeiros said.

There are currently 52 cats at the colony but “there were hundreds before,” she said.

But as the volunteer group became known locally, residents began reaching out with reports about feral cats living in other areas of the county.

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“We started helping out with that and now it has actually manifested itself into something and we hope to become a registered charity,” Medeiros said.

“We have 150 cats around the county that we feed every day and ensure that they have adequate shelter, and that they are spayed and neutered,” she said.

“Plus we have the rescue side of things where we have fosters that look after cats that are giving birth.”

Along with cats that have lived in the wild for generations, there may be an increase in recently abandoned cats adopted as pets during the pandemic by owners who didn’t have them spayed or neutered, Medeiros said.

“The population just explodes and they all end up being sick or inbred,” she said. “It can be a very miserable life for these cats.”

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“We’re doing our best to put a dent in that population.”

The group has feral cats it rescues spayed or neutered before returning them to where they were found and ensuring they have adequate shelter and food, Medeiros said.

“It seems like we’re trying to bail out a boat that’s got a hole in it but we’re doing our part,” she said.

About 30 volunteers are involved, she said.

“We depend on the community for a lot of donations of money and food,” Medeiros said.

The group also receives donations of pet food from some companies.

In a typical year, the volunteers need to raise about $50,000 to cover the cost of feeding and caring for the animals, Medeiros said.

“It’s a community issue,” she said. “It’s not a Caregivers of Petrolia Ferals problem.”

Members of the public can help by taking steps themselves to see that feral cats they find are cared for, before contacting the volunteer group for help, Medeiros said.

“We’re overwhelmed with the amount of calls, and just trying to do the best that we can. We can’t do it all on our own.”

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