32 cats trapped inside plastic containers dumped outside B.C. SPCA in Sechelt

An investigation is underway after 32 cats were abandoned outside a B.C. SPCA animal centre on the Sunshine Coast. Staff discovered the animals in plastic storage containers near the front gate on Dec. 4.

Cats Abandoned at Sunshine Coast SPCA

Marika Donnelly, manager for the B.C. SPCA Sunshine Coast animal centre, said staff discovered the cats after arriving to work. “They quickly went out to check and then realized that there were animals in them … a little bit of panic initially,” Donnelly said.

One cat was found dead inside a container. Donnelly believes this is the largest number of animals ever left at a B.C. SPCA centre.

“They were quite panicked in there because their ability to breathe was compromised,” Donnelly said. A necropsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death of the cat.

Security cameras captured footage of the person abandoning the animals, and an Animal Protection Services file has been opened, according to Donnelly. The B.C. SPCA is reminding the public that abandoning an animal is a crime.

“I think it’s likely a situation where animals [were] not being spayed or neutered and then interbreeding with each other, those situations can get out of hand very quickly,” Donnelly said.

Cats Will Be Up For Adoption

In November 2023, a family contacted the B.C. SPCA to surrender 21 cats in Kelowna. B.C. SPCA’s regional manager of animal cruelty investigations Matt Affleck said he was grateful the family stepped forward.

“The B.C. SPCA often sees situations like this escalate when beloved pets aren’t spayed or neutered, leading to accidental litters and turning manageable situations into ones where owners can no longer adequately care for them,” Affleck said.

Donnelly said 16 cats will be cared for at the B.C. SPCA location in Sechelt, and the other half are at their centre in Surrey. “Our shelter, physically, isn’t massive, and our space was very limited as we were already at capacity at the time,” Donnelly said.

All of the cats are relatively healthy. Staff at the Surrey location are working to make the cats more comfortable around people. “All the cats were treated for the parasite coccidia, which included baths on the first and last day of their course of medication to remove any remaining cysts in their fur,” Layla Gihooly, B.C. SPCA Surrey manager, said.

The animals range from kittens to middle-aged males and females, and long and short-haired. They are quite social and are doing well with only minor issues. “They’ll be spayed and neutered and then hopefully, [we] get them into homes pretty quickly,” Donnelly said.