A Valemount resident is pleading with pet owners to have their animals spayed and neutered, following an explosion of the feral cat population in the area. 

Chris Dolbec, a pet owner and rescuer from Valemount, said the situation has become urgent, and many of the feral cats living in the area are unhealthy and unable to be re-homed. In Tête Jaune, at least a hundred feral cats are living in the area, and while they are being fed, they are suffering from many diseases and passing them on to their young. 

Dolbec herself has taken in a litter of kittens after a dog chased away their mother. After an attempt to live-catch the mother, a different cat had to be destroyed when it was discovered that it was suffering from feline herpes, which is characterized by bald patches, excessive tearing and nasal discharge. 

“There is a lot of disease in this colony,” Dolbec said. 

The kittens are healthy now, and Dolbec is looking to find a home for them, because she is unable to keep them long-term. Dolbec already has five cats and two dogs of her own, and will have to take the kittens to the Kamloops SPCA if she does not find someone willing to take care of them. 

The Tête Jaune cat colony is rapidly growing, and may have started from domestic cats. It’s become a bit of a tourist attraction, as people drive by to drop off food or look at them.

“Cats have an amazing ability to breed rapidly. It’s been going on for a long time,” Dolbec said. “It’s a horrible situation.”

The cats themselves are feral – which means they most likely can not shift into a home. Dolbec says that unfortunately many may have to be humanely euthanized due to disease or their wild nature. 

As for the kittens in her possession, Dolbec wants to see them have a happy life as pets, since they were taken in at such a young age. 

“They deserve better than what they were born into,” she said. When they were found, the five kittens had barely opened their eyes. Along the way, there have been a few hiccups, but the kittens are healthy and happy. “Now they’re just the biggest little love monsters.”

While saving five kittens is a good start, Dolbec said it’s time that pet owners be responsible for their own animals and do the right thing – spay and neuter them before they have a chance to create unwanted litters. 

“I just can’t turn a blind eye to it anymore,” she said. “People out here just really need to be accountable.”

Dolbec said pet owners need to make sure they’re ready for the commitment financially when they select an animal, and be prepared to spay or neuter them. 

“If you can’t afford to have a pet and care for it, you shouldn’t have one.”

Feeding litter after litter of kittens can be just as expensive as surgery over time. 

“They just have to spay and neuter, and I sound like Bob Barker,” Dolbec said. “One spay can recoup the cost in two litters. They eat a lot.”

Janet Jones, veterinarian at the Jasper Veterinary Clinic, said it is the pet owner’s responsibility to spay and neuter their pet, and adds that there is no truth to the myth that cats and dogs that can breed are happier or better pets. 

According to a SPCA brochure available at the Jasper clinic, one pair of cats and their offspring can produce a staggering 80,399,780 kittens in 10 years, with an average of 2.8 surviving cats per litter. Cats can have three litters a year, and unlike dogs that go into heat, female cats can breed whenever a male cat is nearby. 

For dogs, the statistics are just as startling; By age five, one female dog and her offspring can produce 192 pups, if each litter contains two females. Dogs can have two litters a year, and usually produce about eight puppies depending on the breed. That statistic does not include the male puppies. Un-neutered male dogs can be more aggressive than neutered males. 

“Obviously we are proponents of spaying and neutering. It’s your responsibility,” said Jones. “We kill millions of cats each year because they have no homes. We need to reduce our population of cats.”

Dolbec is looking for homes for her kittens and will take them to the SPCA in Kamloops if she can’t re-home them. There the kittens will have to fight with the many other cats in the shelter to find a new owner, and could, like many unwanted pets, spend their lives there. 

“There’s a very small window of cuteness with kittens,” she said. “They just kind of get lost in the numbers.”

Dolbec’s kittens are well socialized, living in a home with five other cats and two dogs. Dolbec said they would be a great fit for a family. To adopt one of Dolbec’s five kittens, call her at 250-566-0116.