Three rescue organizations from across Saskatchewan joined forces over the weekend to save dozens of cats from a neglected home filled with debris and garbage in the eastern part of the province.
Saskatchewan RCMP were called to a residence in Wynyard, Sask., last Friday to conduct a wellness check, and when they arrived, they found one person deceased and a second person who they connected with medical treatment.
In a statement to Global News, police said they also found several cats at the residence, prompting them to connect with a nearby animal sanctuary to get the cats to safety.
“I said to the RCMP officer, ‘I’ll get back to you, I just have to think this through and how we can do this,’” said Veronica Hermiston, founder and director of Mozart Sympawthy Animal Sanctuary, located in the town of Mozart, Sask., just east of Wynyard.
Hermiston said that she was hesitant when receiving the call, as her rescue was already nearing capacity and she was just about to head out of town for a different animal rescue project.
SOS Prairie Rescue, a volunteer-run cat rescue organization based in Saskatoon, then stepped up to the plate late Friday evening, working with another local rescue to gather volunteers for the two-hour trek the next morning.
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“Overnight we were able to generate a response from other local rescues like SCAT and be able to mobilize in under 12 hours to head out onto the scene and start removing animals,” said Ashlyn Weninger, president of SOS Prairie Rescue.
But when the rescue volunteers arrived, they quickly realized the situation was worse than they had initially thought.
“Cats were going up into the ceiling, they’re going into the rafter in the basement. There’s places to hide under the debris,” said Weninger, speaking of the difficulty in finding and rescuing all of the cats.
Volunteers used personal protective equipment and put on masks before entering the home to protect themselves and mask the smell, said Hermiston.
As of Tuesday evening, at least 37 cats have been saved. Many of the rescued felines have only minor injuries, such as wounds and abscesses, while few have more severe injuries, including a ruptured eyeball.
“Unfortunately, in this case, it seems like people had been trying to help both the people and the animals living in this situation for quite some time and there just hadn’t been the help or resources or response available until it was a really emergency situation,” Stickney added.
The rescues involved in the incident all agree that while this incident was drastic, it is not isolated.
The groups are pushing for more proactive measures to be put in place by the government, such as accessible vet care and spay-and-neuter programs, to assist pet owners and prevent similar situations in the future.
“Our rescue deals with this all the time,” said Weninger. “I think it’s important to recognize that when we see animals suffering in our communities, it’s kind of like the canary in the coal mine. There’s people that are suffering just as bad.”
Weninger added that she wants to see the government engage with rescue groups on what needs to be done, but says this is lacking.
“I think every group you will talk to is dismissed on every level from the smallest town council to the federal government. We are not asked to come to the table. We are continually dismissed. And something has got to change.”
While the rescues are unsure of the exact number of cats still left in the home, they believe there are many more and plan to continue their searches of the residence this week.
“We’ll continue as long as we’re allowed by the RCMP,” said Hermiston.
The cats that have been rescued are currently being connected with veterinarians and foster homes for the duration of their treatments. Then, after a quarantine period of at least two weeks — which could be longer, depending on the severity of the cat’s injuries — the felines will start to be made ready for adoption, said Weninger.
“Overall, considering everything they went through, they’re in pretty good shape,” said Weninger.
The rescues say they will announce when the cats are ready for a new home on social media in the coming weeks.
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