About Cause 4 Paws:
Cause 4 Paws Feline Rescue is a volunteer organization founded in 2003 in response to the pressing need to help curb the overpopulation of feral, stray, homeless, and abandoned cats and kittens. We are dealing with an overpopulation crisis of domesticated, companion animals. We aim to stop the cycle of the suffering of cats living outside through trap/sterilize/re-release programs that help curb the source of the overpopulation at its source, and to find homes for feral cats and kittens that can be socialized, as well for any cat or kitten that is abandoned, abused, or homeless.
Cause 4 Paws is our response to Friend of the Earth founder David Brower’s imperative to “think globally, act locally.” We have a double mandate: the sterilization and other veterinary care of feral cats, and the vetting and homing or rehoming of any cat in need.
The way we see the broad picture, work needs to be done to improve legislation at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels, and to educate the public concerning the necessity for the humane treatment of all animals. Bottom line is that if the source of the overpopulation problem of companion animals is not addressed and the facilities that breed them for commercial purposes, kitten and puppy mills, closed for good, all the rescues and volunteers will only ever provide a patchwork of band-aid solutions, benefiting a small minority of animals fortunate enough to enter our jurisdiction.
Québec requires animal welfare legation with teeth, the resources to enforce such legislation, the political will and public education and involvement necessary to close kitten and puppy mills, and to prosecute all acts of cruelty against animals. As long as animals are considered property and not sentient beings, as long as they remain in the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture rather than the Ministry of Justice, there is little hope of tackling the problem at its source.
We have begun to lobby municipal officials to try to obtain funding for the trap/sterilize/release aspect of our mandate, and to increase awareness of the scope of the problem of the overpopulation and high kill rate of companion animals. Federal and provincial governments must be lobbied to create meaningful animal welfare legislation and close pet breeding facilities.
However, the animals suffering outside or at the hands of animal abusers do not have time to wait for legislative reform. Our day to day work at Cause 4 Paws consists of front-line rescue work, be it trapping in feral colonies or responding to calls to rescue homeless, stray, or abused animals. We then ensure that all the vet work is done: vaccinations, anti-parasite treatments, blood-testing for infectious diseases such as FIV and feline leukemia, and sterilizations. When we receive cats that are sick and injured, they receive the vet care they need to recover and heal.
All of this is very expensive, and we have no source of revenue other than adoption fees and donations from caring members of the public. We are volunteers who pay the vet bills out of pocket. However, the need is overwhelming, and we must raise funds to enable us to continue our vital work. If you wish to donate, you can do so via our PayPal account by clicking on the button located on our website.
In Cause 4 Paws, we only euthanize if a cat is fatally ill to spare them further suffering, such as in cases of PIF, or cats with FIV or leukemia who have no quality of life. We do not euthanize vigourous FIV-positive cats for they may live out their full life span in perfect health. We keep cats until they are adopted. In the case of semi-feral cats that socialize only to one person, we keep them forever.
Quality of care and hygienic standards are never compromised. We do not warehouse cats. All are in foster homes or in the founder’s home. We work very hard to find them permanent, adoptive homes with adoption days every second Saturday, and opportunities in between adoption days to adopt directly from foster homes.
We work with a vet who donates her time to vaccinate, treat for parasites and disease, and combo-test the cats and kittens we rescue. C4P also has agreements with two clinics, one in Dorval and one in Pierrefonds, for low-cost sterilizations and other procedures.
There are more than enough cats and dogs to provide companionship to all people who desire it, even if vigourous mandatory sterilization programs were in place, which they are not. Kitten and puppy mills merely add, at the cost of unspeakable suffering to the animals involved, to a problem that has long since reached crisis level. Many of the animals purchased at pet shops, the outlets of these facilities, end up unsterilized and abandoned, increasing the demands placed upon already overburdened rescue organizations.
We seek to educate the public concerning the sufferings of homeless and feral cats, and the necessity to spay and neuter all pets. All of the cats we adopt out that are 6 months old or more have been sterilized; the operations of those too young to have been sterilized at the time of adoption are included in the adoption fee. Sterilization is a contractual obligation, and we follow up to ensure that all the kittens we adopt out are sterilized by the time they reach 6 months of age. We also screen potential adopters to ensure they understand that they are making a commitment for the entire lifetime of the animal.
On behalf of all the cats and kittens you are helping us to help, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.