A Calgary animal rescue got a bit more than it bargained for in early May when it received a call about a few cats looking for a new home. Pawsitive Match Rescue Foundation is a no-kill animal shelter in Calgary that saves dogs and cats from urgent life-threatening situations. “I have a contact [in southern Alberta] who reached out about potentially taking five to seven cats from a house and I was like, ‘yes, absolutely we can do that’,” shelter manager Taylor Epp said in an interview with CTV News. Then, there were delays as the story grew more complicated. It turned out the police were involved -- and there were more than five to seven cats. And the house they were staying at was being condemned. Then the numbers started rolling in. “They ended up catching last Wednesday almost 40 cats,“ Epp said. ”I think it was 35 and then a few little baby kittens.” Pawsitive Match ended up taking 16 last Friday, including three pregnant females who all ended up giving birth on Mother’s Day. “All three of them within a few hours of each other!” Epp said. “But it was amazing to see our foster community step up and get those moms into homes so they didn’t have to care for their babies in the shelter." The remainder of the cats are still at the shelter. Epp said many of them -- who are estimated to be between eight months and two years old -- have extensive medical needs, including dental work, that the rescue will bear the cost of. “So not only are we spaying and neutering them, but the majority are going to need dentals and a couple of them did come with some upper respiratory virus symptoms, but we’ve been able to give them meds and get that all cleared up, so they’re actually doing very well all things considered. “And we’re just trying to get some weight on them and give them a comfy, safe place to live,” she added. “And rehabilitate their health.” When you include the cost of three moms giving birth on a weekend, including one that required an emergency C-section delivery, Epp said the ballpark figure for medical and dental expenses on the rescue’s new arrivals to be somewhere between $2,000 and $3,000 per cat. “Spays and neuters area generally low-cost in the grand scheme of rescues,” she said, “but once you start adding in dental, bloodwork panels and different testing, it adds up very quickly.” The rescue was also helped out by the Canadian Animal Task Force, which vaccinated the rescued cats, gave them dewormer and intake exams. Epp said there are different ways for people to get involved in helping out, including volunteering, donating and fostering animals. There’s even an Amazon Wish List for Pawsitive Match. “I know, financially, not everyone is able to help, but anyone interested in volunteering -- there’s lots of volunteering opportunities in the organization, whether that’s in person or even remote roles. “Help is always needed in a variety of ways, and there’s always a variety of ways you can help a rescue,” she said. One thing they don’t need is help naming the new arrivals. That’s already been taken care of. “First, they just came in with letters, so I took a picture of each one with a letter so we knew who was who -- before we let them start free roaming with each other -- and then on Monday, we started naming them all. That was fun.” Some of the names include Juniper, Tulip, Primrose, Fig, Briar, Cypress, Niblet, Walnut, Posey, Pine, Oakley and Moonbeam. Pawsitive Match started 19 years ago as a rescue for Mexican Chihuahas and eight years ago, when the organization moved into a new building, they created a space for cats. Epp said that while the new arrivals -- the total is 23 since last Friday-- were a bit of shock, the general rule at the animal rescue is to expect the unexpected. “These cats came to us very scared and we’ve had a couple escape and we’ve been able to catch them,” she said. “So every day is a bit of an adventure. “But that’s rescue,” she added. “No two days are ever the same. “You never know what’s going to happen,” she said. “Last Friday, I didn’t know we were going to have 16 cats arrive -- with many of them needing extensive medical work -- so you just kind of always have to be ready for a curveball.” For more information about Pawsitive Match Rescue Foundation go here.
