Guelph Humane Society has 18 Siamese cats surrendered from one location

Over the course of the past week, 18 Siamese cats have been surrendered to The Guelph Humane Society from a single location.

GHS spokesperson Natalie Thomas said when they first arrived, they were all coughing, struggling to breathe and full of discharge, but their health significantly improved since coming into GHS’s care. 

“We are so happy to report that as of yesterday, all cats are now eating. Our animal care staff celebrated! Having the cats eat is a very positive step. We are hopeful that all 18 cats will recover fully, and will be cleared for adoption to find their Happy Tails (positive stories from adopters),” said Thomas. 

The cats range from one to six years old. Thomas said the first 11 cats were surrendered to GHS on Feb. 1. “They were some of the sickest cats from the location, and three of them were taken right to the clinic. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, one of those cats could not be saved. But the other two cats are now back at the shelter,” said Thomas.

On Wednesday, GHS received another eight cats from the same location to add to a total of 18 cats. 

Thomas said there were also other cats that were surrendered to other animal rescues in the area and the GHS cannot disclose information about the location where the cats came from because it is a Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) issue. 

She said when the GHS receives a large number of animals from one location, they often reach out to their supporters for financial help. With some of the cats requiring long stays at the clinic, they’ve required daily medication and all need to be spayed and neutered. 

“These types of larger surrenders are made possible because of the generosity and support of our community,” said Thomas. “Thanks to our new building, space is not a concern. We have the cats in their own two rooms, away from all of the other cats in our care.”

Thomas said some of the cats are doing better than others so will be up for adoption at different times.

“Once they are strong enough, most will go into foster care so that they can be socialized and they will also need to be spayed or neutered. It will likely be about three or four weeks before any of the cats are available for adoption, and longer for those that need extra time to heal,” said Thomas.

Once they’re up for adoption, they will be posted online.