After three-and-a-half months as a temporary boarder at the Prince George SPCA animal shelter, Slinky has found a new home.
The black and white domestic medium-haired adult cat was successfully adopted as part of the BC SPCA's Pick-A-Purr-fect Price promotion.
"It's really exciting to see a cat like Slinky go to good home, it makes our job worthwhile," said SPCA kennel assistant Raeanne Burke. "It's really sad when they have to stay here, I feel really bad."
All cats older than six months were the featured animals in the three-day province-wide event, which gave prospective pet owners a chance to set the price they would pay for their newfound furry friends. As of Saturday afternoon, four of the nine adult cats at the animal shelter on Lansdowne Road had been adopted.
Each cat had been either spayed or neutered, with all its immunization shots up to date. Usually that carries a $95 adoption cost but the promotion allowed pet owners to set their own price. The average rate offered was about $50. Although Burke was hoping all nine cats would be adopted before the promotion ended at closing time Saturday, she considered the first-time event a reasonable success worthy of repeating.
"The reason we're doing this now is cats are overlooked by the [people who want] kittens, so we're just trying to get some of the cats out of here," Burke said. "Kittens stay with us about a week, on average, but adult cats are here two or three months."
Cats or dogs that have been at the Prince George shelter for longer terms are transferred every Wednesday to shelters in the Lower Mainland, which have higher adoption rates. Stray cats are the most frequent arrivals being brought to the local shelter, which takes in an average two or three cats or kittens per day. Province-wide, the BC SPCA receive 17,000 cats every year.
Burke said an untreatable illness or an aggressive nature are the only reasons the SPCA would choose to euthanize an animal.
