Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWs)
Respect, Observe, Preserve
Texada Island Feral Cat Initiative
Wild Ocean Whale Society’s official charity mandate states
“saving, supporting, protecting or assisting stressed or endangered form of life”
covering wild or domestic animals.
We pride ourselves in never turning down any rescue or response, marine or terrestrial.
WOWs responded when asked to assist with this feral cat colony and their kittens after others did not. We responded. After discussions with the Board, and finding the need was greater than we initially expected, this initiative was born and added to our volunteer run Rescue and Response Program.
In doing this, and getting the word out, we were also hoping to prevent the rumoured threats of poisoning of animals which is detrimental to all wildlife and other domestic animals. Unfortunately, 17 were poisoned and dumped in 5 locations around the watershed. We found, retrieved and properly disposed of these poor cats, including two that were someone’s pets.
The purpose of this initiative on Texada Island is to give these animals their best chance at life while reducing the feral cat population explosion in a humane manner.
Our Society’s involvement ensures transparency and accountability for any of your Donations covering direct costs, and for which you can also receive an official Charity tax receipt.
We work to ensure those cats we trap and transport are not already spayed / neutered or someone’s cared for pet that accidently was caught in our traps. We release them or return them to their owners, if we can locate them. Please ensure your pet has a microchip or ear tattoo and the information is updated if you have moved.
In summary: September 27, 2022 to July, 2023
Kittens:
26 Rescued
24 Adopted and/or pending
12 initial rescues all spayed/neutered
14 pending or still too young or small
Colony Cats:
37 Cats spayed / neutered
20 plus minimum number of kittens prevented from being born
17 Deceased poisoned cats recovered and ethically disposed of
Our volunteers have provided the location and construction of transitional holding enclosures, as well as trapping, cleaning, initial socialization, caring, patting and generally giving the captured cats and kittens some love and attention – what’s not to love, they’re adorable!
HOW IS ALL THIS FUNDED?
We work closely with vets, primarily on Vancouver Island due to lack of local vet capacity. The extensive travel is necessary for this to work. Some funds were provided by the SPCA for the spay/neuter costs only. Funds committed in April, 2023 were already used up by May, 2023. SPCA also contributes some food for the feral colony. We cover the rest through donations and fundraising. Our Texada initiative is also expecting a contribution from Qathet Regional District to assist with the numerous costs involved. We continue running bottle drives and your donations are instrumental in helping fund our direct costs.
Our Costs and Your Donations specifically for this initiative. Qathet Regional District anticipated grant funds will also contribute towards some of WOWs costs where needed.
We can’t say thank you enough for your generosity and support.
