People are dumping unwanted cats and kittens like never before in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area.
A significant jump was noted over the past few years by CatSpan, a non-profit organization devoted to spaying, neutering, fostering and adopting feral and semi-feral cats.
Active since 1990, the group used to manage a large regional population of truly feral cats, according to Kathy Robinson of CatSpan, but as that population dwindled over the decades, the focus has shifted to recently dumped cats, of which there are many.
鈥淭he vast majority of them are either dumped or somebody鈥檚 moved away and left them. It鈥檚 just been awful since COVID,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淯ntil a couple of years ago we were handling about 90 cats a year and now we鈥檙e doing 250.鈥�
The group was hopeful last year that the issue would improve with the pandemic in the rearview mirror, but 2023 was just as bad as 2022 鈥� and 2024 isn鈥檛 shaping up much better.
鈥淭his year, it鈥檚 March and we鈥檙e already up to 50,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e heading for a couple hundred this year and we haven鈥檛 even got to kitten season yet.鈥�
Rural roads are the most common place for cats to be dumped, she added, particularly in Errington, Coombs and Whiskey Creek.
鈥淲e get some from in town, but generally what happens is we get someone who doesn鈥檛 want a cat and they鈥檒l just take it and dump it on a country road and then it shows up at an acreage,鈥� Robinson said.
A common call to CatSpan involves a stray cat showing up at a home and the owners feed it, not thinking much of it 鈥� until it shows up with a litter of kittens.
鈥淎nd then they start to get a bit panicky and they call us.鈥�
In a case like this, CatSpan will spay the mother cat (people can then have the cat back if they want) and the kittens are adopted.
The veterinary and food costs are huge, Robinson said. By the time a cat has been vaccinated, de-wormed, had a flea treatment and been spayed and neutered, the bill is approximately $400.
鈥淥ur vet bill for the last year has been approximately $130,000,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd then we鈥檝e spent another $20-odd [thousand] in food.鈥�
The organization receives donated food, but Robinson said the high quality kitten food they buy is expensive, approximately $100 for a case of 24 cans, which does not last long, especially during 鈥渒itten season鈥�.
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CatSpan is registered charity and is always looking for cash donations, as well as volunteers for fundraising events and people who can host a semi-feral cat on an acreage or farm. More information about donations and other ways to help is available at .
Robinson fosters many animals in her own home, and assesses if they are tame enough to be adopted or more suitable for the barn cat program.
People will dump cats for a number of reasons, Robinson said. People will move and leave a cat behind, or an owner dies and the cats winds up on its own. Or someone may simply decide they don鈥檛 want a pet anymore and drop it off in the forest.
Recently CatSpan volunteers picked up seven kittens and cats (including a few who were pregnant) from one development.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 want them anymore,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淭hey were selling them, and then of course because nobody wanted them they couldn鈥檛 sell them anymore, so they surrendered them to us.鈥�
She added the BC SPCA does not have the staff capacity to socialize cats that have become semi-feral living on their own for a while.
鈥淲e have a deal with them. They鈥檒l take the tame ones, we鈥檒l take the feral ones,鈥� she added.
Without the ongoing work by volunteers to spay, neuter and adopt, the issue can spin out of control quickly because the animals multiply surprisingly fast, Robinsons said.
鈥淚f we quit, in five years the place would be overrun with feral cats again,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 be living outside and they鈥檇 be feral, and then in a couple of generations they鈥檇 be truly feral.鈥�
