•
A cat is treated for ringworm
A cat is treated for ringworm (Kamloops SPCA)

After four months of being closed to most incoming or outgoing animals, the Kamloops SPCA shelter is finally on the brink of reopening its doors.

A bad bout of ringworm — a highly contagious fungal infection, not an actual worm — hit the shelter in early November after infected puppies and kittens from the same home were taken in.

The building is not suited for its use as a shelter; the ventilation system doesn’t allow for proper quarantine to prevent the spread of disease, the space is inadequate and it’s all old and outdated.

Read the full post » »

•
Marius the giraffe
Marius the giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo (the times.co.uk)

Understandably there was outrage this week when a Copenhagen zoo killed a healthy two-year-old "surplus" giraffe, cut it up and fed it to the lions.

That it was done in front of school children, and that the redundant giraffe had big gentle eyes and a name, Marius, starts to make it unpalatable.

Marius was part of a breeding program at the zoo, but his genes weren't needed. The zoo was concerned about too much inbreeding. The giraffe had to go.

Read the full post » »

•
trailerkittensnewborn
The kittens when they were first found.

The tiny mew that came from somewhere inside Melody Isvik’s Jayco tent trailer didn’t make sense to her partner, Jerry Deleeuws.

They didn’t have a cat at their Rose Hill ranch, largely because of the coyotes and foxes in the area.

They had closed up the trailer in Nanaimo three days before, on the Friday leading up to the October Thanksgiving weekend. It was now Monday and they had reopened the trailer to air it out before winter.

Read the full post » »

•
Tippy the kitten shows his tripod stance
Tippy the kitten shows his tripod stance

Usually when Barb Zibrik goes to feed any of the feral cat colonies in Kamloops, the felines and any of their offspring disappear into a myriad of hiding places.

But last fall, the head of the Kamloops and District Humane Society was surprised when one black kitten stayed put on a chair as she neared the food and water dishes at one feeding spot she has set up on a property with the homeowner’s permission.

When she got close enough, she could see why the 12-week-old kitten wasn't taking off into the dark of the fall night like the others.

Read the full post » »