Cheesy Calgary Humane Society video ‘bursting at the seams with quality felines’

CALGARY – It’s as cheesy as can be and features a moustachioed used-cat salesman trying to adopt out an abundance of cats at the Calgary Humane Society.

“Felines, felines, felines, feeeeeeeeeelines! We’re literally bursting at the seams with quality felines,” says the salesman in a less-than-subtle attempt to lure prospective cat owners.

“Black cats, white cats, tall cats, short cats. We’ve got cats of all makes, models and colours. They’re ready to practically walk off the lot.”

READ MORE: ‘Kitten season is out of control’ – Alberta animal shelters overcapacity

The video, just over a minute long and released last week on YouTube, has so far received more than 60,000 hits and helped the society find homes on the weekend for 30 cats – about twice the normal number.

“If we were going to do this, we were going to do it right – and by right we mean wrong – and make it look terrible and as cheesy as possible,” said Philip Fulton, the humane society’s manager of community outreach who played the used-cat salesman.

“We decided to … pull from used-car dealership commercials and self-produced commercials and … it’s gone like gangbusters. It’s just kind of exploded and got a lot of attention for our event.”

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Finding homes for the 30 cats has freed up some much-needed space for the shelter, which is still full of felines.

Summer is the busiest time of year, Fulton said, because it is kitten season and there have been several high-profile seizures from homes which weren’t providing proper care for their animals.

He said there are also more people who turn in their cats because they can’t afford to provide basic care or veterinary attention.

The video was written and produced at the humane society and took about a morning to film.

Fulton said the use of social media was so successful that it is something the humane society is likely to tap into again.

“It’s literally been spread and shared not only across the country, but into the United States and beyond.”