Residents of Regina are not the only ones preparing to undergo another season of frosty temperatures in the Queen City, as many of the local stray cats are also being faced with the challenge of remaining warm.
Regina Cat Rescue, a nonprofit organization within the Queen City, has devoted its time to collecting materials in order to provide strays with what they need to survive the existing harsh temperatures. A volunteer of nearly 20 years, Leanne Toth said these cats are compromised by abandonment during the winter season.
“This has been a weird year or two with COVID-19, in that there seems to be a lot more cats because there’s a lot more displaced people,” said Toth. “So we find that a lot of people don’t have housing, but they have a cat. That has increased numbers during this time.
“We’ve had situations with people moving away and leaving a lot of cats behind. Or an older person passing away that had a lot of cats. We’ve even got a few new situations that are just out of control and we can’t do much about them other than try to support them pretty fast.”
Toth said the supplies RCR collects are received by donation, so they encourage community members to drop off any useable material.
“In the colonies that we manage, we make winter shelters for the cats out of medical grade Styrofoam coolers that get donated to us,” said Toth. “They’re super warm, none of them have had frostbitten ears. Inside, we make cozy little beds out of fleece fabric.
“Every year we make probably close to 7,200 of them. For the ones we do re-use, we rip everything out to disinfect, hose it down and put new bedding in it. It might not look the prettiest on the outside, but it’s still cozy and warm on the inside.”
With the number of stray cats continuing to climb, Toth gave details on how the public can help shield them from the cold.
“We’re always looking for donations of old pillows or fleece fabric for the shelters we make, as fleece dries quicker,” said Toth. “We’re also always on a shortage of wet food and litter.”
Toth also emphasized the importance of those who choose to adopt, as it relieves rescues from becoming too full.
“It’s different to the public when they don’t know all about what’s still on the waitlist,” said Toth. “But when you’re out there, firsthand on the street and you see them every day, it breaks your heart because you can’t do as much as you would like to.”
Volunteer and adoption applications are available at www.reginacatrescue.ca.
