A local animal rescue is struggling to manage an exploding feral cat population in Sooke.
Sooke Animal Food And Rescue Society (SAFARS) trapped 25 feral cats between Jordan River and Port Renfrew over the span of two weeks. The rescue operation, which began in late November, is ongoing.
Margarita Dominguez, president of SAFARS, said the organization prevented the birth of up to 60 new cats. However, there are about 25 other cats in the area still waiting to be rescued, according to Dominguez. The group is now struggling to get the cats ready for adoption and is seeking help.
“Sadly, our funds are not enough to pay for all the sterilizations by ourselves. We have recently caught 25 cats and kittens, and we need help to spay and neuter them,” the SAFARS said.
Dominguez said the number of feral cats in the area has been increasing for years, largely due to three main factors. First, the COVID-19 pandemic led to more adoptions, but many people eventually found they could no longer care for their animals. Additional factors, such as housing restrictions that prevent residents from owning pets and a lack of shelter space have also led to more animals being abandoned.
“People say, ‘Well, I cannot do this anymore,’ and they dump the animal,” said Dominguez.
While some may believe cats can survive in the wild, Dominguez said that is not the case.
“These are domesticated animals. These animals used to belong to somebody,” she said.
“People have this stupid belief that they can survive by themselves, right? But they don’t. They starve. They die. They cannot survive just by hunting birds.”
For SAFARS, finding and rescuing the cats is relatively straightforward thanks to feeding stations and the efforts of volunteers. However, working in the remote area between Jordan River and Port Renfrew brings challenges.
“Those are areas that no other group cares for because of the long distance and the risks of getting stuck out there. It happened to me a couple of times,” said Dominguez.
Now, the organization is struggling to pay for the spaying and neutering needed to get the rescued cats ready for adoption. Feeding the cats has also become more difficult since the group lost two major food donors this year.
When the group located 44 cats in 2022, Dominguez was quoted as saying she expected the cost of medications, vaccines, spaying and neutering to range between $10,000 and $15,000.
Finding homes for the cats has also been a challenge.
While there are no restrictions on the number of kittens a homeowner in Sooke can have, Dominguez said a Capital Regional District bylaw limits the number of adult cats a person can own without declaring themselves a kennel.
However, to declare her organization a kennel, Dominguez would need to acquire five acres of agriculturally zoned land.
Those interested in learning more about SAFARS and the group's recent rescue efforts can do so at SAFARS.org.
