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CAT in the News

Cat Action Team gets more than $20K to spay and neuter feral cats, by Laura Meader, CBC News Prince Edward Island, February 6, 2017

Feline food drive planned to help nourish P.E.I. cat colonies, by Natalia Goodwin, CBC News Prince Edward Island, August 7, 2016

100 Women Who Care — Prince County support PCH Auxiliary, [Summerside] Journal Pioneer, March 21, 2016

The Cat Action Team in West Prince relies on grant, donations and community support, by Laura Mills, West Prince Graphic, October 28, 2015

Animal welfare groups working closely together to better the lives of Island companion animals, by Ancelene MacKinnon, [Summerside] Journal Pioneer, September 29, 2015

PET CORNER: P.E.I. volunteers join forces in impressive spay, neuter program, by Pat Lee, [Halifax] The Chronicle Herald, September 6, 2015

Doing Their Part to Control Cat Population, by Eric McCarthy, [Summerside] Journal Pioneer, June 19, 2013

Cat Action Team Receives Grant, The Buzz, June 2013

Cat Action Receives Large Grant, [Summerside] Journal Pioneer, June 8, 2013, page A5

Looking Out for Feral Cats, by Pat Srebrnik, [Charlottetown] The Guardian, March 16, 2013

O’Leary Feral Cat Population on Short Leash, by Zack Metcalfe, peicanada.com, March 13, 2013

Cat Action Team Declares Tentative Victory in O’Leary, by Colin Maclean, [Summerside] Journal Pioneer, February 27, 2013
Group Making Progress in Feral Feline Problem, CBC News, February 25, 2013

Keeping Feral Cat Population in Check, by Eric McCarthy, [Summerside] Journal Pioneer, October 14, 2012

Cat Action Team Receives Grant for West Prince, [Summerside] Journal Pioneer, March 4, 2011

By catadmin, ago

Donna Hickox Memorial Page

Below, Donna as she organizes a shipment of donated food, preparing it for distribution to hungry cats island-wide.  This is just one of her many contributions and a glimpse into the countless hours Donna spent volunteering with Cat Action Team on behalf of homeless cats.

MESSAGES:

Nishka Smith, Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 2:13 PM:

I’ve known Donna since she first started with the Cat Action Team. Throughout the life of the organization, she took on many volunteer roles such as sitting on the Board, helping trap and care for neutered/spayed cats, helping find safe locations for cats who could not be returned to their original colony/home, fostering cats and kittens, fundraising, organizing the cat food shipments, and supporting other CAT members as needed. She was by far one of the most dedicated and reliable volunteers the group ever had – if she said she was going to do something, she did it and did it well. That says something about her personality and values. During the times she and I worked together on tasks, we always had a few good laughs and provided each other with support. I was always amazed at her stamina and what she was able to take on. Her love for animals knew no bounds and she gave all she had to ensure those who crossed her path were taken care of. She will be sorely missed not only by her CAT colleagues but also by all the wonderful animals she loved and supported. Below is a poem I always loved and expresses how I feel about Donna and her passing.

Love Nishka

A rose once grew
Where all could see,
Sheltered beside
A garden wall,
And as the days passed
Swiftly by,
It spread its branches, straight and tall….

One day, a beam of light
Shone through
A crevice that had
Opened wide ~
The rose bent gently
Toward its warmth
Then passed beyond
To the other side

Now, you who deeply
Feel its loss,
Be comforted ~ the rose blooms there ~
Its beauty even greater now,
Nurtured by
God’s own loving care.

© Author Unknown

Colleen Pidgeon Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I regret never having taken the time to tell Donna how much I admire her, and now I can’t. Donna was a force to be reckoned with and had the food shipment down to a science! Everyone got their fair share of whatever arrived. That is only one of the places that the CAT Action Team will miss her efforts and her wise counsel. Colleen Pidgeon

Diane Minick Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I have known Donna for many years, she has been a CAT member and fund-raiser for a long time.
She would NEVER give up helping animals- that was one of her outstanding qualities.
As a friend of hers said:
Donna would be angry, now, that she can’t help all the little critters that she would find on her way to work.
Donna helped all types of animals- cats, dogs, horses, skunks- whatever came across her path and needed help.
Donna would get right down to the facts and was not intimidated by anyone. She would rescue cats from people who refused to feed them and inform people about how animals should be fed.
I was aware that Donna participated in many fund-raisers, apart from CAT, including “riders for sight” but when I attended her wake today, she was astounded by the loving tributes from many organizations that Donna was obviously part of.
I first met Donna in 2001 when she wrote a letter to the editor of the “Journal Pioneer.” She was exclaiming and scolding about the numbers of house cats and kittens which were being “dumped” at the Summerside racetrack, where Donna had her horse. I liked her letter and got in touch with her.
Nothing has changed since 2001 with this “dumping of cats” so let’s try to get education going, in honour of Donna. am sure that she would like any help for animals- that could be in her honour, esp cat food!
Diane

Francine Labbe May 03, 2010

I met Donna in the fall of 2000 at the beginning of the CAT Action Team. She became a very dear friend from whom I learned much. Her determination and strong willpower helped her accomplish anything she set out to do!

Donna knew lots about all animals and her love for all kinds of God’s creatures was unconditional. When presented with troubles or problems, Donna knew how to shake it off and find a solution. She never wavered in her commitment to Cat Action Team to excel. With her, it was always ‘Mission Possible’ regardless of the work that was involved.

Feeding the cats was always a passion for Donna. After a long, hard Friday working, she would take on the food shipment with a smile. The CAT Action Team will miss a very good and dedicated person. I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart for all her help and commitment to the food shipment, delivery of mice, and all the successful fundraising she did. WHAT A WOMAN!!!

I am sure she can hear me! She lives her life to the fullest of her believes and was not afraid of tomorrow. She touched the lives of many people and animals, so will be missed greatly by all; human and furry friends alike. She was an angel for many cats and I will always keep happy memories of Donna, close to my heart where she has left her footprint.

**********HEAVEN HAS WELCOMED IN A NEW ANGEL **********

Love
Francine

~If you have a story, memory, or photo of Donna you would like to share, please email cataction.webmaster@gmail.com.~

By catadmin, ago

The Donna Hickox Feed the Ferals Program

Donna Hickox was a valued volunteer of the Cat Action Team in PEI, since the Team was formed.  She was very concerned about the care of the stray/feral/barn cats after they were trapped, neutered, and released.  One of her concerns was that there be enough food to keep the cats fed and comfortable.  She was a regular helper in the distribution of food.

When she died on April 24, 2010, money that was given as a memorial to Donna was used to purchase cat food.

On July 2nd of the same year, Vicky Smith and Paula Connolly decided to approach the CAT Board with the idea of collecting pennies so that food could be obtained.  With the Board’s approval, Pennies for Paws was born.  By the end of the year, approximately $1,000 had been gathered.

When pennies were no longer being made, the name of the fund was changed to Feed the Ferals.  Shortly after that, the fund was changed to the Donna Hickox Feed the Ferals Program.  Islanders (and some off-Island friends) continue to help this Program.

Since the fall of 2013, donations of cat food have been requested (a tax receipt may be obtained upon receipt of a completed in-kind donation form and sales slip).  People are generous with food donations – some have donated several times.

The Donna Hickox Feed the Ferals Program ended in November 2016.  Our thanks to the many supporters who donated their pennies, their other change, and their coffee money that helped purchase cat food for community cats in need.

Thank you to Cat Action Team members Paula Connolly and Vicky Smith for their efforts over the past six years.

Link to poster:  https://cats-pei.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FtF-Cat-Food-Appeal-04-2015.pdf

FtF Cat Food Appeal 04 2015

BUSINESS DROP-OFF LOCATION:

Sunnybrook Farms Pet Supply
601 Read Drive, Summerside
(902) 724-7387
 
——————————————–

https://www.facebook.com/FeedTheFerals2012

Co-ordinators, Paula Connolly paulamconnolly@eastlink.ca and Vicky Smith catactionpei@gmail.com

Paula Accepting Cat Treats from Blue Ribbon Pet Supply

Paula accepting over 150 bags of Orijen cat treats from Blue Ribbon Pet Supply

 

 

 

 

 

SUNNYBROOK FARMS PET SUPPLY

Cat Food Drop-off Location

Sunnybrook Farms Pet Supply

Thank you to Sunnybrook Farms Pet Supply for using the proceeds of a Tack Sale to purchase cat food for Cat Action Team colony cats.  Thanks, also, for the donations of Blue Seal cat food (for every can customers purchased, a can was donated to “Feed the Ferals”).

Thank you to everyone who has donated cat food to date, including cats Kringle and Quincy.  Several cats will benefit from your generosity.

By catadmin, ago

Students Protecting Animals UPEI

 

Board member Julianna Chaulk accepting donation from Jennifer O'Brien, president of Students Protecting Animals UPEI

The Cat Action Team is grateful for the generous support of many individuals and organizations including:

Our thanks to the Students Protecting Animals UPEI for their generous donation!

Board member Julianna Chaulk accepting the donation from Jennifer O’Brien, president of Students Protecting Animals UPEI

 

 

 

 

 

By catadmin, ago

Cat lucky to escape from snare

Article from the West Prince Graphic http://www.peicanada.com/west_prince_graphic/news/cat-lucky-to-escape-from-snare/article_890f74bf-a0d3-54a1-a3b1-1473cc38fe15.html

It appears a cat owned by Mary Gallant used up nearly all of its nine lives escaping from a snare’s death grip.

On Jan 6 the Bloomfield woman’s two-year-old cat, Sandy, was discovered in her barn with metal twisted around her neck and wire trailing behind.

“I was talking to a friend of mine and he noticed it when she walked in. You could obviously tell she was in distress and I said ‘Whoa, we’ve got to get this off of her quick,” said Ms Gallant, a member of the volunteer Cat Action organization.

She said her cat’s neck had been squeezed by the suffocating wire to roughly the size of a two dollar coin.

“She had been chewing and chewing and got herself free, that’s why that cat is alive today,” said Ms Gallant, who believes rabbits were likely the intended prey.

“I’ve lived here for 20-some years and I never knew there were snares in and around my area, I really didn’t.”

Ms Gallant’s property is bounded on one side by Bloomfield Provincial Park, where it is illegal to set snares, a business and a private landowner, with plenty of wooded land, but whom Ms Gallant doesn’t believe would allow snares on his property.

Ms Gallant says she doesn’t know where the snare was placed, but it must have been close by because her cat doesn’t miss its regular daily feeding schedule.

She suspects it was illegally set.

She contacted PEI wildlife officials and a conservation officer was expected to visit her this week. Ms Gallant hopes she will find out where the snare was placed and if there are any more in the neighbourhood that could claim other pets.

Fortunately, Sandy has since made a full recovery and is back to her “regular job,” keeping the barn mouse-free, said the lucky feline’s relieved owner.

Cat Action members such as Ms Gallant scour the Island’s countryside to help feral cats who have been abandoned by their owners. Since 2000 members have arranged for more than 7,000 feral cats to be spayed and neutered. Many cats have been treated for diseases and injuries and even placed into adoptive homes.

Sandy was an abandoned pet who has been fed and provided with a warm place to stay by Ms Gallant.

The owner of M & M Lucky Hooves says she is amazed at the stream of comments posted to her Facebook site after she reported the incident.

“There were a lot of comments. A lot of people were terribly upset,” she said.

“A lot of people had stories about their dogs, their cats, being caught in traps and snares,” said Ms Gallant.

“I was just talking to a friend, just over on Duvar Road and (she said) a cat she had come home one day with a snare around her neck.”

Ms Gallant said cats are allowed to roam around her property, something she felt comfortable letting them do because they know what times they are fed.

Now that sense of security is gone.

“I find it very disturbing,” she said.

Ms Gallant said a cat of hers had gone missing two weeks prior to the unsettling incident with Sandy.

“I kind of chocked it up to coyotes or foxes” but now she isn’t so sure the cat didn’t fall prey to snares.

Brad Potter, a wildlife biologist with the provincial government, says since 2007 Islanders have been allowed to purchase a license to snare small animals. The average of number of licenses purchased in any given year is about 50.

The usual quarry is snowshoe hares.

Ms Gallant went on to say anyone who sets snares legally “should have the common courtesy to call people who live in the area, (to see) if they have animals. Anyone who knows me knows I have animals belonging to the Cat Action (organization),” said Ms Gallant.

And they should check their snares at least once a day, to ensure animals, including wayward pets, don’t suffer needlessly, she said.

By catadmin, ago