A new cat rescue group in the area is working to make its mark.
Fundraising for the Cat Rescue Maritime Pictou branch will be in full swing Feb. 11 at the Pressroom in Pictou where a silent auction will be from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with Ashley George performing from 8 to 10 p.m.
There will also be a table for information and donations at the Pictou liquor store Feb.25
The group has contacted Pictou Elementary School and Pictou Academy in hopes of having a short education session about its mission.
Cat Rescue Maritimes (CARMA) is an organization that helps bring community cat populations into balance, to better the lives of the cats, to support long-term cat populations in communities, and to help give the roaming cats a voice. Pictou is the ninth branch to join the Cat Rescue organization and so far has been very successful.
The purpose for this group is that Pictou has a lot of tame cats that are homeless – whether it’s because people get a cat as a kitten and decide they don’t want it anymore and dump it, or they move and leave them, said Lynn Plexman, director of Cat Rescue Maritime Pictou branch.
“Our mandate is to spay and neuter roaming cats that are homeless in order to address the overpopulation in Pictou County,” Plexman added.
There is a severe crisis with cat overpopulation mainly because there are a lot of kittens being born and people need to remember to spay and neuter them, Plexman said.
They are in desperate need for foster homes especially for kittens – due to the warm weather there are going to be kittens born by the middle of March, Plexman said.
At the end of September the Cat Rescue Maritime group had a waiting list of over 400 people who wanted to bring kittens or cats in, and at the end of December there were about 140 people waiting, Plexman said.
The Pictou branch serves only the Town of Pictou for spaying and neutering starting in the heights because that is where there is a big population of roaming cats, she said.
CARMA is asking the community to donate to this cause by donating cash, cat food, litter, toys, beds, tote boxes, wire dog crates, cat carriers or building supplies such as lumber, plywood, shingles or nails. Items can be dropped off in New Glasgow at M&M Meats across from the Aberdeen Hospital or to Margie Plexman.
Donations for the group can be made online at www.ca-r-ma.org specifying the donation is to go to the Pictou branch.
People are needed for trapping and fundraising, Plexman said. Training in trapping will go ahead in the spring,
The group meets once a month on the first Tuesday of every month at the New Horizons 50-Plus club in Pictou from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
