Regina Cat Rescue is once again providing winter homes for some of the city’s most vulnerable animals.
Volunteers outfitted medical-grade coolers with fleece and a pillow to create DIY cat condos for the city’s feral felines.
“We often say these coolers get to save lives more than once,” said Rachel Molnar, Regina Cat Rescue’s education coordinator.
“They’re either delivering blood or medication to human patients and then they’re homes for our cats — saving their lives, too.”
This is the 15th year volunteers have created the makeshift shelters.
According to Molnar, the condos can reach close to 20 C while a cat is inside during the winter months.
Once the temperature dips, the rescue will distribute the coolers to the 30 cat colonies throughout the city.
These colonies supply food, water and shelter to the feral animals all year round.
“We do this with cats that are not socialized to people so they’re not good candidates to be adopted into homes,” Molnar said.
“They are happiest living their lives on the streets.”
The rescue operates on a “trap, neuter and return” program to help curb the “cat overpopulation crisis.”
According to Molnar, once the cats are sterilized they are returned to the colonies.
“Rather than catching and killing them or letting them breed non-stop, we think it’s important to run this program.”