A little orange ball of fur darts around the office of the Estevan Humane Society
(EHS) with mischievous impunity as it’s let out of its cage for some afternoon exercise.
“Ronin pretty much gets the run of the place,” said Kendelle Lesiuk, public relations student for EHS. “He marches to the beat of his own drum.”
Nine-week-old Ronin is just one of many cats and kittens brought to the shelter in recent weeks and EHS is encouraging anyone looking for a new pet not to be shy about adoption.
Because the current proximity to kitten season the shelter’s had a great deal of stray felines arrive, taking the amount past its normal capacity of about 40 cats and kittens to 66.
“We have a lot of litters, I think we have five of them. So it just puts a strain on our staff and resources,” added Lesiuk.
“We’ve got so many kittens that are ready to go as well as full grown cats, so if you can adopt that’s awesome and if you can’t adopt we’re always open to people fostering cats as well because we are limited in space here.”
Lesiuk puts little Ronin back in his cage and walks down the halls of the shelter, pointing out the many rooms full of kittens, some playing together and jumping into little baskets, feeding with their momma cats or just lounging around.
In one room banks of kennels house the fuller grown cats, and while it’s apparent they’re all well cared for, the way they meow and rush to the doors of the kennels when she walks in shows they’re likely itching for new homes.
In the past two weeks or so animal control has been bringing cats into the shelter steadily, to the point where EHS staff have even been bringing some home to make more room.
“We definitely encourage people coming down and adopting them because we have some pretty cute kitties right now and the full grown ones of course are just as adorable,” said Lesiuk.
“They’ve all got such unique personalities.”
She added if a person isn’t able to adopt or foster, it’s good for them to at least educate other pet owners on the importance of spaying and neutering.
Those who are looking to adopt and foster can visit the shelter between 5 and 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, or 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
Alternatively, the shelter can also be messaged via the EHS Facebook page where pictures of new arrivals are regularly updated and ready to be perused, and a member of the staff will be quick to respond.
As mentioned, the volume of new animals puts a strain on the shelter’s resources, so donations of dry food, litter and cash are also always welcome.
The cost for adoption in $225 per cat, which ensures they’ll be spayed or neutered and to fix your own cat is about $150 per cat.
