Orillia's Comfie Cat Shelter is in peril and urgently needs community support.
Over the summer, shelter manager Matt Wimpory says there has been a "massive decline" in volunteers.
"There is a core set of people here," he explained. "We've had to walk away from the roles that we normally do to do some of the cleaning and the rest of the things with welfare and medications."
The volunteer staff at the shelter haven't been able to keep up with the necessary responsibilities to keep it afloat, he said.
"It just keeps building up," Wimpory said. "It's gotten to the point where we need to put the brakes on everything to do some catch-up."
The Comfie Cat Shelter will not be accepting any new surrenders until they can at least get things back on track.
"When somebody has a box of kittens and I can't do anything to help them, it's hard," he said. "But we need to stop and catch our breath."
Wimpory says the COVID-19 pandemic is to blame for the drop off in volunteers.
"This is one of the first summers since everybody was secluded," he said. "This has been the first taste of a non-restricted summer, so people want to get out and do the things they were restricted from doing for a while."
Wimpory fears the current volunteer team is going to "burn itself out" and the shelter will shut down.
"If we don't do something about this now, in 60 days this place will be shut down," he said. "I don't want that to happen."
The shelter is making a huge push for volunteers and is overhauling its structure. They are now offering positions for more specific roles that allow volunteers to be flexible with their schedules.
"People are more inclined to do some smaller jobs for an hour of their time," Wimpory explained. "We are finding it's working, but it's slow."
With the fall around the corner, Wimpory is also banking on high school co-op students signing up to lend a hand.
Wimpory is also calling on Mayor Don McIsaac and Orillia City Council to step up and help.
"Orillia is one of the only communities in Ontario that doesn't have cat bylaws," he said. "It's absolutely ludicrous."
Without any cat bylaws in place, the Comfie Cat Shelter has been "inundated" with surrenders. There are currently over 180 cats in the care of the shelter.
"There is no control whatsoever and it's crazy," Wimpory said, noting that other communities have by-laws in place to keep cats indoors and to limit the amount of cats living under one roof.
While Wimpory understands it would cost the city thousands to implement and enforce such cat bylaws, he says it would be worth it.
"The revenue they would get from the fines that could be given to people violating would make it a cash grab," he said.
While the Comfie Cat Shelter currently offers a massive spay and neuter discount from their primary vet in south Barrie, Wimpory suggests that a low-cost spay and neuter clinic is needed in Orillia and the City of Orillia should fund it.
"The city needs to cough up $10,000 to $20,000 and get the vets in here," he said. "The biggest thing we hear when people call to surrender their cat is they can't afford to spend $900 to get it spayed and neutered."
If most cat owners could afford the service, Wimpory says the population of strays would diminish.
Because Wimpory doubts the municipal government will make any changes, he is encouraging citizens to contact MPP Jill Dunlop to express their concerns.
"We have been doing this on our own without any help from the city since 2005," he said. "It's probably time they kicked in."
Shawn Crawford, the city's director of legislative, building, parking, and transit services, says the City of Orillia has explored various options related to cat regulation over the years, including the potential for cat bylaws, spay/neuter clinics, and support for local shelters.
"In 2008, a committee was established by council to examine cat regulation options within the city," he explained. "After a thorough review of options including licensing cats, a bylaw prohibiting cats from running at large, and the feasibility of implementing a high volume spay/neuter clinic, the council of the day chose to focus on the Trap Neuter Vaccinate Release (T.N.V.R.) pilot project as a humane and cost-effective approach to managing the non-owned cat population."
The program was cancelled in 2012 and since that time there has been no active cat-specific programs or bylaws in place, primarily due to the costs to administer and enforce such a bylaw, Crawford said.
"Should council direct staff to investigate options for cat regulation in the future, staff would take into account the feedback received by the Comfie Cat shelter, best practices in other municipalities and practices of the Ontario SPCA," Crawford said.
