Cat Adoptions Temporarily Suspended At SPCA
Cat adoptions have been temporarily suspended at the Bermuda SPCA Shelter on Valley Road in Paget due to Cat ‘flu’.
The Island’s only animal shelter has suspended cat adoptions until Tuesday June 28, while staff and volunteers work to care for the cats and minimize further spread of the ‘flu’ virus.
“We currently have over 40 cats living together waiting to be adopted” say Deborah Titterton Narraway, Interim Executive Director of the Bermuda SPCA.
“This is an extremely high number of cats living in our indoor/outdoor playroom, so we have taken precautions and isolated 2 cats known to have the ‘flu’ as well as an additional 4 sneezing cats”.
The SPCA said, “Cat ‘flu’ is a common illness that affects the upper respiratory tract of felines. Rather like human ‘flu’, cat ‘flu’ is spread by droplets of moisture containing the virus passing from cat to cat, through sneezing, direct contact or sharing food bowls. The virus is passed out of an infected cat in the saliva and nasal discharges [snot].
“There is no treatment for ‘flu’ in cats. Cats just like people, feel pretty miserable when they have the ‘flu’ and plenty of nursing care is needed to help them get over it. All cats at the Shelter will continue to be monitored for signs of the ‘flu’.
“Cat ‘flu’ can be life-threatening to kittens and older cats but the majority of cats recover, although that can take several weeks. Symptoms include sneezing, runny nose and eyes, quiet and subdued behaviour, loss of appetite, high temperature.
“The viruses which cause cat ‘flu’ are quite different from those causing ‘flu’ in humans. A cat cannot catch the disease from a human and humans are not at risk of catching it whilst nursing a sick cat.”
“Our staff and volunteers are making sure the sick cats are receiving lots of TLC” says Jodi Corbett, Humane Education Officer. “The cats are set up in individual cages with comfortable and warm bedding and are given plenty of water to drink.”
“In the meantime, the shelter will remain open to the public. Dog and small mammal adoptions from the shelter are not affected. People wanting to donate can go online at spca.bm/donate. These donations will be used to fund the additional requirements of special needs animals at the SPCA such as vet checks, specialised food and medicine.”
The Bermuda Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals [SPCA] was founded in 1919 and is a Bermuda Registered Charity No. 86 as well as a US 501©[3] not-for-profit.
Their objectives are to: provide effective, lawful means for the prevention of cruelty to animals, promote the education of the general public on the care and wellbeing of all animals, encourage and promote kindness to animals. For more information visit www.SPCA.bm, email info@spca.bm or call 236-7333.
This might be a little of topic but still.
OMG!!!!! Please just go down Astwood Park, and adopt yourself a feral cat. Take 2 or 3 even, I for one would greatly appreciate you. Being SPCA / Bermuda wont address the issue.
further it should be illegal to set up feeding stations for feral cats. When have cats ever needed assistance in finding food. WHERE HAVE ALL THE BERMUDA SKINKS GONE IN THE LAST DECADE? WHERE HAVE ALL THE LAND CRABS GONE OVER THE LAST DECADE? WHERE HAVE ALL THE BLUEBIRDS GONE? Do a study that shows Bermuda the benefit to feeding and encouraging the population growth of all the cats in the Warwick SouthShore area, That have now Migrated into residential areas.
So I Called SPCA about this. Ha not enough staff to spay and neuter all the feral cats.
I COULD REALLY RANT ALL DAY ON THE FERAL CAT ISSUE IN BERMUDA BUT WHO IS REALLY LISTENING?
“Who is listening” you ask? Why don’t you ask “who is to blame.”
Please know that your concerns are not going unheard. There are several agencies working together to try and resolve the feral cat issue in a humane manner. You can help us by making a formal (anonymous) complaint regarding specific issues through our website; we will take the details of your complaint and share them with all of the agencies involved.
http://spca.bm/support-animal-welfare/report-animal-cruelty
Below are the current efforts being made to reduce the unwanted cat population – and we agree it is not enough but we cannot do it alone.
The Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau (a group of volunteers) raise funds to feed and spay/neuter the feral cat population. The feeding of the cats is important to try and reduce the hunting of other animals.
The Bermuda SPCA provides financial assistance to cat owners so that they can have their pet spayed/neutered by a local veterinarian. And all cats that are surrendered to the SPCA Shelter because they are no longer wanted are also taken to the local vets to be spayed/neutered, vaccinated etc. in the hopes that the Shelter can find them a new home.
Please note that the average cost to spay/neuter a cat is between $300-400.
Both organisations must raise funds in order to carry out these duties and rely heavily on volunteers who give their time to try and care for animal that people in our community have discarded.
There are two main reasons for the out of control cat population and they both lie with Bermuda’s irresponsible cat owners:
1) People who do not consider that a kitten will live for 14+yrs and when it is no longer ‘cute’ discard it either at the SPCA or let it loose to fend for itself and thus reproduce 2-3 times per year, having 4-8 kittens in each litter.
2) People who do not spay/neuter their cats but let them outside to freely mate with other cats and thus reproduce 2-3 times per year, having 4-8 kittens in each litter.
In regards to number of SPCA staff (3 full time and 2 part time) who as you mention do “not enough staff to spay and neuter all the feral cat” as noted above BFAB oversea the feral cats and vets do the spaying and neutering – the Bermuda SPCA currently has 2 animal care staff (1FT 1PT) cleaning and caring for over 55 animals in the Shelter 7 days per week, and this is heavily supplemented by the 20+ volunteers who work along side them cleaning and socialising the animals; 1 Education Officer who hosts camps and presents to schools and community groups in an effort to create a better understanding of key animals welfare issues including the importance of spaying and neutering; 1 Office Manager who runs the administration side of running the Shelter (billing, ordering, adoptions), 1 PT Bookkeeper (manages accounts) and 1 Executive Director who oversees the daily running of the Charity and raises the much needed funds to keep the Shelter open.
We welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you may have and sincerely hope that you will make an animal welfare report through our website.