Animal rescue without borders!
RAPS welcomes dozens of cats from Alberta and B.C.’s interior.
RAPS exists to rescue animals. Central to our mission is the certainty that where an animal lives should not determine whether an animal lives. More than ever before, we have been able to realize this promise because we are no longer contracted by the City of Richmond to provide animal care and control services. This frees us up to be truly an animal rescue without borders!
Well, that shift has brought an embarrassment of riches in the past few days!
HELP SUPPORT OUR EMERGENCY CASES
On June 2, RAPS staff drove 10 hours round trip to the B.C. interior to pick up 32 adult cats, and 11 kittens. RAPS Animal Hospital veterinarians worked until 11 p.m. assessing and providing care for these animals on their arrival.
These cats were trapped and spayed or neutered by the Canadian Animal Task Force, a Calgary-based rescue group we are honoured to partner with. They are currently dealing with one of the largest colonies they have ever encountered and so they reached out to partner agencies as far away as … well, here!
This is only one of several new groups of cats arriving at RAPS. Another superb agency, Sammy’s Rescue, has been trapping a feral cat colony in Salmon Arm, B.C.
Similarly, another rescue operation is underway in Kamloops and RAPS has accepted 26 animals from that colony.
We feel truly honoured to be able to assist so many agencies. We have grown dramatically in recent years and, with our range of facilities, we are now one of Canada’s largest and most innovative animal agencies. Because we have the community-owned, not-for-profit RAPS Animal Hospital, we can deliver health care to animals whenever and wherever needed – as our vets showed in their late-night assessment and treatment of the Calgary cats. Because we operate Canada’s largest cat sanctuary – which has the capacity now to welcome even more animals – we are fortunate to be able to welcome cats from rescues that do not have this sort of sprawling “Kitty Club Med.”
This vast number of cats have kept our staff and volunteers extraordinarily busy recently. They are being dewormed and de-flead, tested for health conditions, given any treatments required and, importantly, assessed for socialization.
Terms like “feral” and “semi-feral” are not an exact science. All cat people know that each animal has its distinct personality. Does a hissing fit mean the cat won’t make a great house pet? If you were uprooted from everything you knew, brought to a strange place populated by a species you had rarely encountered, you might hiss a little too! That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t warm up when you discovered these bipeds surrounding you were offering up delicious, healthy food and that having their giant, bald paws rub your jowls isn’t half bad.
In other words … some of these cats, especially the kittens, will soon be ready for forever homes. As days and weeks go by, we’ll see how many of the adolescent and adult cats are suitable for family homes. The others will settle in to a wonderful existence at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary, where they will find their groove among cats who, like themselves, prefer the freedom of the sanctuary to the cozy lap of a human guardian.
Whichever route each of these magnificent creature ends up taking, one thing is certain: A rescue (or series of rescues, as is the case) takes a great deal of resources.
Everything we do – every animal whose life we save – is possible because of the support of animal allies in the community.
This has been a challenging year for so many households. If yours is in a position to help with a contribution to RAPS’ Emergency Cases Fund, it will make an enormous difference.
Thank you!
