An idyllic life in the country chasing mice and living in a barn may sound like the perfect solution for cat owners with pets they no longer want, but a rescue organization is warning that the vast majority of cats abandoned on rural properties will die of disease or starvation.
Sandi Lawson and Janice Richard of want to make it clear that house cats and barn cats don鈥檛 mix. And they say farmers often lack the resources to care for the animals they find left at the end of rural driveways, in ditches and in barns.
Fresh paw prints cover the snow outside a rundown barn near Kemptville, Ont. Lawson said it was recently home to dozens of cats dumped by their owners a few weeks ago. She said the farmer was spending $800 per month just to keep them fed.
鈥淚t's a huge burden on the farmers,鈥� told CTV Ottawa on Monday, 鈥淪ome take care of it, but others don't have the means.鈥�
At the Kemptville-area farm alone, Lawson said she rounded up close to 60 cats. Many of them were in rough shape, diseased, starved, missing eyes, and without veterinary care.
She said most abandoned cats will die of either disease or starvation.
鈥淭his is Baron,鈥� Lawson said while stroking one of the rescued animals, 鈥淏aron was a kitten from a barn, and he lost his eye in the process.鈥�
Richard said her goal is to educate owners about the reality their former pets face after being abandoned on farms.
鈥淭he misconception is that, well, the farmer is going to look after them. They will have mice. That鈥檚 not what happens,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are city cats. They are domesticated cats. They don鈥檛 know anything about the hierarchy that goes on in these barns.鈥�
With a report from CTV Ottawa鈥檚 Joanne Schnurr
