A Strathcona County cat shelter pilot project has released some statistics on its first seven months in operation.
Sheltered Paws, which is run by the Greater Edmonton Animal Rescue Society (GEARS) opened up in the county on October 1 as part of a one-year cat shelter pilot project.
In a report to the council, the shelter said that as of May 14, 87 cats were brought to the shelter (50 male and 37 female) of which just 11 were spayed or neutered upon intake.
36 of those cats were kittens under a year old.
Many of the cats that entered the shelter were either ill or injured. One cat died in the shelter after being found in a ditch with severe head trauma, suspected to have been suffered after being hit by a vehicle.
Three more cats were humanely euthanized after being found to be suffering from various illnesses.
In terms of reunification, just three cats were reunited with their owners, 56 cats were transferred into GEARS foster homes, and 21 were sent to partner organizations.
A total of 23 cats were adopted from the shelter.
The shelter was initially launched after community members identified abandoned cats as an issue. After successfully approving the project, the county invested $100,000 into startup costs.
Operation costs as of March 31 are around $82,050.76 a year, which averages out to $11,725 per month.
Budgeted department funding has been provided to Shelter Paws so that it will remain in operation until December 31 of this year. A multi-year grant commitment is expected to be presented for the council's consideration as part of the 2024 budget deliberations.
To read more on the Sheltered Paws pilot project, click here.