Homeless, feral cats in Regent Park to be spayed/neutered.
The Toronto Feral Cat Coalition will spay/neuter 500 cats in Regent Park.
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With numerous cats displaced by the Regent Park redevelopment, the Toronto Feral Cat Coalition is starting up a spay/neuter program in the area.
While the area has an undetermined, but growing number of feral and stray cats, the program will also benefit "loosely owned" cats or outdoor cats with low-income owners in Regent Park.
According to Dr. Hanna Booth of the Toronto Feral Cat Coalition, the community has an unusual cat problem.
"With the area getting redeveloped, we're seeing a lot of people dumping cats," she said. "Rather than a ton of feral cats, there are a lot of domesticated homeless cats there."
The project has earned $20,000 in funding from PetSmart Charities and will serve to help limit the homeless and outdoor cat population in the area. That funding will help volunteers spay and neuter some 500 cats at the Toronto Humane Society site on nearby River Street.
People can book appointments for cats themselves or, if dealing with a feral cat, call experienced trappers who will catch the cats and bring them in for spaying or neutering. If stray cats can be socialized, they will be made available for adoption through the humane society. Otherwise, they will be re-released into the community where they will no longer wind up contributing to the feral cat population problem.
Booth noted that Toronto likely has as many unhoused cats as it does housed cats, with some estimates placing the feral cat population as high as 100,000.
"When you see the stats from Toronto Animal Services and see how many healthy, adoptable cats are euthanized, the best thing we can do to avoid that is to find ways to control the population," she said. "This is how you end shelter euthanasia is through spay/neuter programs like this."
Those involved with the program are postering social housing buildings and public spaces throughout the Regent Park neighbourhood and campaigning door-to-door to get people involved. Those in the community can also donate their time to help on a larger scale.
"If people are keen to get involved, we can always use more community outreach volunteers to help get the word out," Booth said.
The program is slated to run for a year, but could be extended if more time is needed to control the feral and stray cat population.
For more information on the program, or to volunteer, call 416-678-1786, email regentparkcats@gmail.com or visit www.torontostreetcats.com