ATHABASCA - A steady stream of families turned out to play with a kindle of kittens at the first-ever Second Chance Animal Rescue Society Cat Café at Tracker’s Pet Supply in Athabasca Dec. 13.
SCARS' Liza Russell said the focus of this event was to showcase adoptable cats in the community. First formed in 2002, SCARS now takes in and adopts out about 1,000 animals yearly.“We brought in a litter of five cats for the occasion. There were originally six, but one was adopted out two days earlier,” Russell explained. “This particular litter of kittens were found without their mother at a shed in a rural area one cold November morning. They were then taken to a veterinarian in Westlock to get checked out, after which they were transferred to our care.”
To be showcased at the Cat Café, she said the kittens would ideally have to be about six weeks old.
“The animals would also need all of their required shots and be quarantined for a specific amount of time,” Russell continued. “This helps to ensure the health and safety of everyone, including both animals and people.”
Nine-year-old Kieran Fullerton came from Boyle with his mother and two sisters to see all the kittens.
“They were so cute,” Fullerton said. “They looked so cozy and they like me a lot. They were all very calm and playful.”
Eleven-year-old Kadence Arychuk was also there with her family. She said the kittens were the sweetest thing she’s ever seen.
“We currently have a cat at our home,” Arychuk said. “My parent’s will not allow us to have another one unless it’s well-trained. But I still enjoy holding the little kittens, petting them and playing with them. I love how they purr as well.”
Her nine-year-old brother Nolan Arychuk said he really loved how playful they are.
“They just ran all over the floor, jumping around and just always playing,” he continued. “It looked really cute.”
Tracker’s Pet Supply owner Steve Splinter said the event went well.
“We had more than 1,200 hits on our Facebook event page during that time as well,” Splinter said. “Holding a Cat Café is always something I wanted to do, so I figured why not. It was great to have SCARS come in and showcase their cats, and it allowed the public to come in and have their cat fix.”
He added lots of people were already coming into his store to visit Harriet, the business’ resident cat.
“They just love to talk to it and play with it. They really have lots of fun with Harriet while they are there,” Splinter said. “I would definitely love to have the event in my store once again in the near future.”
Russell said SCARS typically take in cats and dogs, but they also have some other animals come in as well.
“We have some rabbits that come in, and once we even had a person bring in a goat that was found on a highway,” she said. “We’re happy to see all the continued support we have for SCARS in general. This event had a full crowd from start to finish, and we are always looking for foster homes, family adoptions, and other unwanted pets.”
More information can be found by visiting the SCARS website at https://scarscare.ca/.
