Rescuers save 42 feral cats from perishing slowly on Little Bay Islands, Newfoundland

by Michael Broad · December 17, 2019

This is a follow-up page from one that I wrote not long ago. It concerns the entire evacuation of a community from the main island of a group called Little Bay Islands off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. All the people have or are in the process of leaving the island and unfortunately they were leaving behind a large number of feral cats.

One of 42 cats rescued from Little Bay Islands. Photo: Spay Day Nova Scotia. The cat looks domesticated.

The government had decided to trap and euthanised the cat as an expediency. Cat rescuers on the mainland had a different idea and as it happens a more humane plan; a mass rescue of the cats and it has now been carried out.

Animal rescuers from two Canadian provinces came together to save the cats. The leader of the rescue operation, Linda Felix with Spay Day Nova Scotia, said that she knew she had to step in. She also said it was a sad story because by her assessment the cats left behind were going to perish over the winter months very slowly because they were used to having caretakers and interaction with those caretakers.

In all there were 10 volunteers who rescued the cats. Felix said that there was only a short window of opportunity to rescue them.

They had all the right gear and they know the tricks of the trade. I had no doubt there’d be successful. I wouldn’t have been able to do it alone, so full kudos to the public for supporting it.

Thirty-seven of the cats were transported to Nova Scotia. They arrived last Sunday night. Four of the cats are yet to be transported and a kitten has stayed with a Newfoundland rescue group.

As usual, all the cats will be neutered, spayed and checked for health issues. They will then be assessed to see if they can be adopted. It seems to me that quite a lot will fall into that category. All the more reason to rescue them.

It was a large project that came together in a very short time. It’s a good news Christmas story for all of us because the cats would have starved death. – Linda Felix

SOME ARTICLES ABOUT VOLUNTEERSA AND CAT RESCUE: