ChangeSomething - CARES - helping homeless cats

I would like to nominate C.A.R.E.S. (Canadian Animal Rescue and Extended Shelter) to receive $1,000 to assist with the good work it does in the community. “Everyone's dream is of a loving home; our cats are no exception.” This is part of CARES mandate. Its mission is to rescue, shelter and find loving homes for stray, abandoned and unwanted cats. In 2006 alone, C.A.R.E.S. admitted and found homes for 524 cats!

Since 1993, the dedicated Volunteers at CARES (now 50 strong) have and continue to work tirelessly caring for cats in foster homes and in the “no kill” shelter in Langley. The cats are cared for until permanent homes can be found for them. The ones who don’t find homes are able to live out their lives at the shelter in a clean, safe and loving environment. CARES currently shelters over 100 cats.

The Society works hard to raise funds through grant applications, annual events such as Garage Sales, Walkathons, and Bowling Nights and various other efforts such as bottle drives and meat draws. The majority of the work is done by volunteers and the money raised each year goes almost entirely into caring for the animals! The shelter also helps, when it can, to assist people in getting their animals spayed. Feral cats are also trapped, spayed and re-released to safe areas where they have food sources.

I have been a volunteer with CARES for over two years and I believe the work that CARES is doing serves our community to make it a better place to live. When I take my dogs for a walk in my neighbourhood, it is evident that the majority of the residents have dogs, cats or both. Pets play a very integral part of so many families and contribute to the overall wellbeing and health in our community. CARES has rescued cats from all kinds of situations in our community, those who have been abandoned, injured or lost, and provided them with a safe haven and eventually for many, a new home.

The best way I can describe the good work that C.A.R.E.S. does is by telling you about how C.A.R.E.S. helped one cat named Syder go from “Rags to Riches”.

It is an unfortunate and all too frequent occurrence for people to take an unwanted cat and just dump it on a roadside and drive off. Syder was trying to find something to eat in a garbage bag when he was spotted by a good Samaritan. This poor thin cat was in need of help. When offered some food, the cat devoured the food and then, deciding he had a good thing, jumped in her car!

The woman contacted C.A.R.E.S. and cited the story about the starving cat. He was “like a skeleton” and his coat was very badly matted. CARES immediately had Syder examined. The vet stated that the cat had not eaten properly in quite some time. He weighed only 6 pounds. Syder was given a flea and deworming treatment and blood tested for Feline AIDS and Leukemia and CARES was told that he needed to be fattened up!

At the shelter, Syder began to thrive with all the love and attention (and food!) he was getting. He put on weight and his dull coat began to brighten up. He happily shared quarters with his other feline friends, never appearing to cause any quarrel between them. After a few months, Syder was back to his ideal weight and he received his vaccines and an “all good” from the vet. Now, all he needed was a good home.

In January 2007, along came Deanna who had just purchased her own penthouse apartment and was looking for a cat of her own. After going through the whole shelter, she found herself in front of Syder. He was the one!

The story gets better. On the day Syder was to be picked up, Deanna chose to give Nancy, a young female who was sharing the same quarters as Syder, a chance for a home too. Nancy had also been rescued from a poverty situation. Both Syder and Nancy are reportedly doing very well in their new home.

There are so many, many stories like this one. Some of them can be found on the C.A.R.E.S. website at www.langleycares.com.

I am proud to be part of this organization that is making such a difference in the community and in the lives of these needy animals. I feel C.A.R.E.S. deserves to receive a $1000 Change Everything award. I hope you do, too.

Diane Louie