Westfort couple finds kittens ditched near home

A garbage-strewn set of railroad tracks adjacent to a dead-end street in Westfort appears to have become a kitten dumping ground of late.

Twice since the beginning of April Amie Cryderman has found a litter of kittens, abandoned by either their owner or their feral mother.

Three weeks ago she and her boyfriend, who lives at the end of Homes Avenue, were out walking their dog when they heard an unmistakable mewing sound coming from behind a filth-covered cushion.

A quick investigation revealed five weeks-old male kittens, which she took in and has been nursing ever since.

Then, three days ago, a little further down the tracks, the mewing sounds returned. This time the couple uncovered three female kittens, none with a trace of to whom they might belong.

She added them to her rapidly expanding mix, and is at a loss what to do.
An animal lover who has rescued dogs, cats and even a fox over the course of her lifetime, the twenty-something Cryderman said she has no choice but to care for the abandoned animals.

"If they went to animal control, there’s probably a good chance they wouldn’t be adopted out, and (instead be) put down," she said. "And the Humane Society is always full of cats, and I believe there is a fee for cats, which I wasn’t obviously able to afford."

The older kittens, a mixture of solid grey and solid black animals, are a playful sort, filling every nook and cranny they can find, still small enough to fit in the palm of someone’s hand. The younger ones, a little more reserved, are nevertheless just as curious about the world around them.

Cryderman said she just can’t bear to abandon them herself, promising to raise them until she can find homes for all of them.

"It’s not something that I do as a regular pastime, it’s just a coincidence that it happened within such a short period of time," said Cryderman, who has already found homes for three of the eight kittens and has an ad on Kijiji seeking permanent homes for the other five.

Jody Kondrat, supervisor of animal services for the city, said unfortunately people do abandon cats and kittens with little or no thought to their welfare, to the tune of about 1,500 a year.

Cryderman’s case, while not an everyday event, is certainly not unheard of, Kondrat said.

"Finding stray cats like that is fairly common in Thunder Bay. I think in some cases people simply abandon their adult cats that have not been fixed. Those cats get pregnant and reproduce and have litters and they’re out there," Kondrat said.

High veterinary costs and the lack of a subsidy program to have low-income pets or strays spayed or neutered is complicating the problem, Cryderman said, calling on the city to put a program in place.

"I guess anything’s possible, but right now we’re focusing on the adoption animals we have here, ensuring they are spayed or neutered prior to being adopted. That’s our goal for this year," she said.

Though cats and other strays must by law be held by animal control for at least five days, the vast majority are never claimed, and most of those are eventually euthanized, Kondrat said.

However, there is hope for an increasing number of cats, she said, mentioning a recent partnership with a group called Kitty Care.

"What they do is find temporary homes for cats that would otherwise be euthanized. They foster them until permanent homes can be found. There’s no financial commitment involved with that group. You simply have to have a home with possibly a spare room. They provide the food and litter," Kondrat said.