Monday, July 24, 2006
A Serious Moment
... Kittens: shhhhh .. actually they're in hiding..It's official: Canberra's having kittens
Some may argue it's a fate worse than death but for 13 kittens Canberra's cold will be sweet salvation. The kittens, from the RSPCA's Townsville shelter, were facing an uncertain fate.
However, the shelter has answered a call for cats from the nation's capital, which is in the grip of a kitty shortage. RSCPA Townsville shelter manager Gail Lane said the organisation was well aware of the mysterious shortage, and Townsville was the only shelter in the nation with surplus. "We've seen a difference in the breeding season for us. Normally you have a full-on breeding season and then you don't see another kitten for three or four months," Ms Lane said.
"Whereas in Townsville, we've had a continual supply of kittens all year. It could be it's too bloody cold in Canberra and just too cold to breed." The kittens, which were all out on foster care, were quickly recalled to meet the demand and flown for free on a Virgin Blue flight to Brisbane, and then on to the ACT, where they will be desexed and rehomed.
Another 10 kittens are expected to be flown to Canberra next week. Ms Lane said many of the kittens would have been euthanased if they remained in the shelter. "They were brought into us as strays or litters that people couldn't rehome," she said. "Because they are too small, we either have the choice to put them to sleep or to foster families who are prepared to look after them for the two to three weeks they are needed for us to desex, microchip and vaccinate.
"But if we didn't have our foster parents that took them, they would have definitely have been euthanased."
