As Montreal animal shelters overflow, this couple is encouraging others to foster

Meredith Baird wasn't sure if she wanted to adopt a dog or add a fourth cat to her Montreal family. So, she and her partner decided to foster two kittens instead, 10-week-old Tux and Pepper.

She says fostering will help the couple see if they can handle another pet while helping reduce the number of abandoned animals crowding shelters in the city. 

"We have the home. We have the space, and we definitely have the love," Baird said.

The Montreal SPCA says it received 200 abandoned animals within a week between the end of June and July 2. That's about double the number of animals they usually take in per week. With their shelter at full capacity, the organization says it's eliminating its adoption fee Sunday to streamline the adoption process. 

Other organizations like Lady Gatta, a cat rescue run by Nadia Verrucci, say they're finding themselves in the same position.

"We do our best, but we're constantly refusing people and it's terrible because then the cats just go back outside again," Verrucci said.

She has owned her shelter for three years but has been working with abandoned animals for a decade. She says every year the number of abandoned animals on the streets seem to be greater. 

According to the Montreal SPCA, between January and April 2023, the organization received 21 per cent more animals than it did over the same period last year. 

Verrucci attributes the alarming trend, in part, to no-pet clauses found in leases. 

"People are so desperate to find some place to live that they don't want to lose out on an apartment that they find that they can actually afford simply because they have an animal," she said. 

Housing and pet abandonment have become intertwined, and Verrucci says she wants to see the government get involved. 

In May, Québec Solidaire tabled a bill that would essentially invalidate no-pet clauses.

While that bill goes through the necessary steps at the National Assembly, Verrucci says there are two ways people can help ease the crisis. 

She says pet owners, and especially cat owners, should sterilize their pets to help with population control. Secondly, she says she wants people to be more mindful of the time commitment that comes with adoption — that can look like 20 years for a cat and 15 for a dog. 

"It's like having a kid," she said. 

For her part, Baird likes to leave water and food outside to help stray cats. 

"Cats, dogs, any pets that you have, they're not commodities. They're not gifts to be given. They're not objects," she said. "They're members of your family."

Like several of the animal shelters in Montreal, she says she's fulfilled her cat quota for the time being but hopes to become a foster owner again once Tux and Pepper find their forever home. 

"Every little bit helps whether that's donating $5, feeding a cat outside, fostering, adopting," she said. "Whatever you can do just do it."