Avenue Cats workers purring after discovering new house for shelter

‘We’re very excited as it is a newer constructing than we had been in earlier than. We’re simply actually completely satisfied,’ mentioned shelter official

Avenue Cats Animal Rescue has a brand new house and workers can’t wait to introduce their feline buddies to it.

The Could 26 hearth on the rescue centre on Shanty Bay Highway pressured the group to unfold its cats throughout Barrie, however a brand new south-end location that must be prepared for Aug. 15 has Avenue Cats govt director Carol Snow very happy.

“It is over on Truman Highway. We’re going to reveal the situation nearer to opening, however it’s a more recent constructing with numerous area, numerous lighting,” Snow defined. “We’re very excited as it is a newer constructing than we had been in earlier than. We’re simply actually completely satisfied.”

The transfer was crucial after the fireplace displaced rescue workers/volunteers and the 56 cats they have a tendency to. No cats died within the blaze on the former facility close to Colborne Avenue alongside the Barrie metropolis limits after a rubbish truck caught hearth near the constructing.

The rubbish truck was a write-off and the constructing sustained harm estimated at $80,000 to $100,000, in keeping with Oro-Medonte Township officers.

What induced the preliminary hearth, although, was undetermined.

The rescue centre was on the former Shanty Bay Highway location for roughly 15 years and it had grow to be a well-loved house for the animals and volunteers.

The rescue group needed to scatter cats to totally different short-term places, forcing workers and volunteers to work that a lot tougher to maintain them throughout what’s their busiest time of 12 months.

“It’ll be a sluggish course of, getting the cats from the place they’ve been briefly positioned and into the brand new facility,” Snow mentioned. “Some cats must be reintroduced to one another; we’re all about minimizing the stress of the cats so this can occur in levels. We even have all of the cages and different objects we had been in a position to salvage from the fireplace which is saved everywhere.”

Some issues weren’t salvageable, nonetheless. The shelter has to get to extra scratching posts, for instance. Because of the generosity of the general public, Snow mentioned they are going to be capable of try this.

“The neighborhood has been nice and as we head into the brand new place, we’ll have some issues that want carried out like some plumbing, carpentry, a little bit bit {of electrical}, issues like that,” Snow added. “We hope the general public will help with issues like that when the time comes, with getting the work carried out after we pay for provides.”

The necessity for assist for cats was made evident lately as 26 cats had been discovered left deserted on the Aldergrove Animal Clinic on Yonge Avenue in Barrie this previous Friday morning.

In the meantime, Snow mentioned she is not positive how most of the authentic cats from the Shanty Bay Highway hearth might be within the new shelter, however it should seemingly be across the identical quantity, though totally different felines.

“Some have been adopted and a few might stay in foster care as they’re close to able to go to PetSmart or Pet Valu for adoption,” she mentioned. “So whereas we’ll be down (within the variety of) cats we had from the fireplace, we’ve additionally taken in some. So we are going to seemingly be round that very same variety of 56 as we head into the brand new place.”