Barrie animal rescue group finding forever homes in weekend-long 'adopt-a-thon'

BARRIE, ONT. -

A Barrie-based animal shelter says its weekend-long 'adoptathon' proved successful but says more work still needs to be done.

Furry Friends Animal Shelter held its 'Kittens in Mittens Adoptathon' this weekend. Held in partnership with Petsmart Charities of Canada at the store location on Mapleview Drive, 27 cats or kittens had been adopted by the end of day Saturday.

"Our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome cats and kittens," says Sherri Helsdingen, a volunteer with Furry Friends.

While pleased that 27 of the shelter's cats have found their forever home, the rescue group is one of many seeing an influx of cats in recent years. Since January, they've had close to 500 cats come into their care and have completed approximately 450 adoptions.

"The numbers in the last couple of years have climbed," Helsdingen says. "We're trying to determine our patterns now, but I think we've shown that we will do anything, anything to save these cats and to make their lives as good as they can be, to give them that second chance."

In October, more than 50 cats or kittens were placed into their system, with Helsdingen saying they typically have 60 felines in their care at any given time. But they take action to try to control the cat population.

"In addition to rescuing cats and kittens off the streets, we spay and neuter every single cat in our care, so we are controlling the cat population," Helsdingen says. "We also have a very thorough vaccination program, so everyone's vaccinated against rabies, treated against parasites, so it's a real health for the animals and for the community as well."

With the temperatures quickly dropping, they've received an increase in calls recently from concerned citizens on cats who appear to be homeless.

Helsdingen says they rely on support and information from the community to rescue and help cats or kittens in need.

"Often, when we are doing cat rescue, it's about people rescue," she says. "People are unable to care for their cats in some cases sadly it breaks our hearts when people abandon their cats. So people see cats in apartments that have been evacuated, people see cats in their neighbourhoods coming to their porches or patios, begging for food."

As a non-profit, the group relies on community support to carry out its mission. The three primary sources of help they need are foster families or those willing to adopt, financial support to help cover medical costs and calls from the public when they see a cat or kitten on the street.

"These are not wild animals. These are domestic animals. They can manage on their own but not well," Helsdingen says. "I like to think about in terms of adoptions is we are giving kitties not just a home, but we're giving them health, hope, happiness."

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