Live in Comox and haven’t gotten around to spaying or neutering your cat yet? Now is the purr-fect time, thanks to a recent grant from PetSmart Charities™ of Canada.
The grant of more than $78,000 will go toward spaying and neutering 700 cats in Comox this year, both owned cats as well as free-roaming felines in four local colonies.
“We are extremely grateful for the grant, which allows us to work with pet guardians in this city to reduce the suffering of unwanted and abandoned cats in the area,” says Emily Priestley, BC SPCA Comox Valley & District Branch manager.
A major focus of the BC SPCA’s five-year Strategic Plan is addressing B.C.’s massive cat overpopulation problem.
To this end the society has been working to systematically reduce cat overpopulation on Vancouver Island through grants in the communities of Port Hardy, Port Alberni and Campbell River, all with significant results. Additionally, the BC SPCA has helped a number of smaller communities on the island with local spay/neuter programs.
“Grants from PetSmart Charities™ of Canada are making spay and neuter services more accessible and affordable to all pet parents. Together, with the BC SPCA and its associated branches, we’re reducing pet over-population and helping to end pet homelessness across the province of B.C.,” says David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D., and the president of PetSmart Charities™ of Canada.
All cat guardians living in the town of Comox are eligible to apply to the spay/neuter fund. While the program is free, recipients will be asked to donate back $40 to the fund if possible, to enable the SPCA to help even more animals.
In addition to PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, the BC SPCA is grateful to the Courtenay Veterinary Clinic, Comox Valley Animal Hospital, Shamrock Veterinary Clinic and Van Isle Veterinary Hospital for assisting with the project by providing the spay/neuter surgeries at a discounted rate.
To pick up a voucher for a spay neuter appointment or find out more, please visit the branch in person at 1668 Ryan Road East or contact them at (250) 339-7722.