Expanded cat shelter needs volunteers

By Patty Mintz

pmintz@theregionalmagazine.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

An upgrade to the Valley Animal Shelter, Wolfville, means more room and nicer digs for a ceaseless stream of homeless cats.

And that means that more volunteers are needed to help care for them.

“We have found that with the increasing cat population we have been dealing with in recent years, we really needed to enhance our visitor’s environment,” said veterinarian Dr. Peter Bligh, who founded the shelter.

Additional square footage and a new air management system will make life better for the cats, volunteers and people who visit the shelter, which is located on Front Street, Wolfville.

Saturday, June 16, staff and volunteers celebrated with an open house complete with refreshments, prizes and miniature horse rides. The $2 cost of each ride will help with upkeep of the shelter. Visitors had a chance to tour the facility and learn about what to consider before adopting a pet.

Acadia University graduate and shelter volunteer Katharina Gale of Kentville said the shelter -- which houses cats exclusively -- is always on the lookout for more volunteers while Bligh noted that there is a three to four-week wait list for new cats to be brought to the shelter. Male cats can be adopted for $78 for a male cat, while a female is about $100. The cost covers the price of spaying or neutering. Cats that arrive at the shelter already ‘fixed’ can be adopted for a reasonable donation.

“We’re trying to fill a need,” said Bligh. “There are feral colonies all over.”

Over the years, adds Bligh, “we have helped facilitate the adoption of thousands of cats to wonderful homes.” The veterinarian credits much of the success to volunteers, “and we are presently in critical need of (more) volunteers.”