By Erin Knutson

A campus colony of feral cats will be able to keep their homes after careful negotiations between the College of the Rockies (COTR) staff and the East Kootenay Community Animal Response and Education Society (EKCARES) at the college campus early Monday (March 27.)

Fourteen felines who have called the COTR campus home for over a decade were facing eviction following a motion by COTR President Paul Vogt to remove them from the premises over health and sanitation concerns at the end of last year.

Thanks to the help of animal activists, these refugee kitties have a new shot at happiness.

“We have resolved to relocate them on college property by the end of July,” said EKCARES President Kim Balcom.

The animal response and education organization has until July 30 to move the cats and build an enclosure to ensure the animals’ safety and the safety of people on the property.

Traditional animal shelters do not take feral cats, according to Balcom, who, with her dedicated volunteer members, reached out to facilities across the East and West Kootenay and the coast to find homes for these animals, who, if dispersed or removed, would most likely die.

“There was nothing for these cats at any of the shelters, and there are no barn-homing programs in the area to accommodate them,” she said.

With the situation dire, a petition to save the cats created through change.org, ‘Save the College of the Rockies’ Feral Cat Colony from Destruction,’ issued a response of 25,000 signatures from concerned individuals in the community of Cranbrook and beyond.

The campaign struck a chord, and negotiations resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the parties, ensuring the fully spayed, neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated cat colony would receive continued care from EKCARES Volunteer Colleen Bailey and increased volunteer staff presence at the site while living out their lives on campus.

“I believe it is a great outcome for the cats,” said Balcom.

Erin Knutson photos

e-KNOW

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