At the peak of the cold snap yesterday, I sent a message to a few hundred contacts asking for help to get into the shelter a colony of cats fending for themselves in the bitter cold in Charlemagne, Qc. municipality situated east of Montreal.
No one answered to offer help. At minus 40 the stray cats do not stand a chance since they are not fed regularly.
In October, some smart bureaucrat at city hall decided cats fitted in their nuisance by-law and so he followed through with a complaint by the same guy who killed one kitten on slamming down the hood of his car on it. There were too many cats in the parking lot to his taste and for municipalities, the way to solve the problem is stop feeding them. In their little mind of bureaucrats, if you stop feeding them they will disappear. Sure enough, they are dying at the moment.
So the police and animal control descended on the cat colony. They gave huge fines to the ladies feeding the cats, picked up all the shelters and feeding stations and placarded a sign with an interdiction of feeding the cats.
Taken by surprise, the cats did nothing for a few days, their food was gone and they did not know what was happening. Then the weeks passed, winter was upon them, they started getting weaker. They did not know they had to relocate since they were born there.
First the kittens started freezing and dying then a few days ago, two more were found dead. It must have been in great suffering. Nothing must be worst then dying of starvation in that bitter cold. Among them was a pregnant little mother I asked the ladies to pick up so that I would ask a volunteer to bring her to the shelter. But these ladies are not proactive. They were feeding them but now they are running scare.
So now I understand why the stray cats have such a huge problem with humans in Quebec. A friend was telling me yesterday following my appeal that the case was discussed very much on Facebook. That is the problem, it was discussed: nothing was done to find some solution and noone offered help. Quebecers are cowards when it comes to protecting children and animals. They retire behind closed doors not to see the situation because they would be asked to help. And now they have the perfect excuse, they discuss it on Facebook and forward the message to someone else to do the job. Still, nothing happens.
Now I understand why that awful animal pound was not closed two years ago when a video was aired on national television showing the cruelty to animals going on in there. Quebecers are completely indifferent to cruelty, neglect and suffering to animals and it applies to elderlies and children as well. Is it society in general or just Quebec ?
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