Everyone loves running into a cute cat on the street, but not every free-roaming feline has a happy home to return to.

Across B.C., and particularly in rural and remote communities, there are thousands of “community cats,” a term used to describe unowned outdoor cats. They can be friendly or feral, healthy or sick, adults or kittens, but all of them face threats to their health and welfare including vehicles, disease, fights with other cats and predation.

It’s a challenge that many smaller communities simply don’t have the resources to handle. But we can help. As a part of our mission at Paws for Hope to support animal welfare, we work with local organizations in smaller B.C. communities to help them overcome barriers to accessing veterinary care.

Right now, we’re partnering with the Port McNeill Cat Rescue Society and Action for Animals Prince Rupert, helping with critical funding to funding to spay, neuter and provide urgent veterinary care to hundreds of cats left in their communities to fend for themselves.

Kittens can get pregnant as young as five months old, leading to a potentially miserable cycle of hungry and short lives. The trap-neuter-return procedure is a humane solution that sees cats trapped, taken to a veterinarian for sedation and the spay/neuter treatment, and then released back where they were found after recovery.

In Port McNeill alone, a Vancouver Island community with a growing homeless cat population, we’ve helped more than 200 cats with spay/neuter, veterinary care and finding new homes since 2020.

Without this intervention, these communities would see even more kittens born outside and left to face a life of fear and hunger. Your generous donations allow us to step in and support this important work – without your help, it would not be possible. Thank you!