MOUNT Gambier’s Wet Noses Animal Rescue is calling for more foster carers as kitten season approaches.
Wet Noses Animal Rescue is a foster care based rescue service in operation for almost four years.
It is a member of the national organisation Pet Rescue and Petstock Mount Gambier’s partner rescue group.
In the time it has been running, carers have taken in close to 500 homeless animals, mostly cats and kittens, but also some dogs and rabbits.
Founder Marie Dukalskis started the initiative due to noticing the number of stray cats in the city.
“Our local animal shelter always seems to be full and there are many animals out there I knew needed another option,” she said.
“Many animals do not cope well in shelter environments, whereas foster care is a much kinder option and allows carers to work on any behavioural issues before adoption.”
As the service is financed by adoption fees, it relies on donations from the community in addition to fundraising events to keep running.
“All of our animals are desexed, microchipped and vaccinated before adoption,” Ms Dukalskis said.
“With all the strategies we use to raise money, we still struggle to cover the costs of fostering these animals.”
Ms Dukalskis has praised the new pet ownership laws that will come into effect on July 1.
“Pet owners must have their animals microchipped as part of the new laws,” she said.
“Hopefully they will teach people to be more responsible with their pets as we often receive cats that we believe have owners, but are not microchipped, so can not be returned to them.
“The downside of these laws is we will most likely get an influx of requests to foster animals that people may not care to microchip.”
She hopes the public will support the service and continue to adopt pets in its care.
“We try to keep to a maximum of 10 adult cats per carer, unless the carer has extra facilities to house more,” Ms Dukalskis said.
“A handful of carers have converted their garage or shed into an area to house foster cats.
“Anything people can do to relieve the pressure is a bonus.”
Year 10 student and Wet Noses carer Laura Coscarelli said she could not imagine her life without her furry friends.
“I have been fostering for around six months now and it is one of the best things I have ever done,” she said.
“My favourite thing to do will hand raise the kittens who need bottle feeding.
“If it was not for the rescue, then these cats and kittens would have horrible lives on the street and may not live to grow up.”
Ms Dulkaskis said although many people love kittens, the service struggles to rehome adult cats.
“Even though the vet costs are the same, the adoption fee for an adult cat is lower than for a kitten so we can help them find a home,” she said.
“Some of our adult cats have been with us for up to two years, especially our black cats.
“We would love to be able to reduce the fees a little more for pensioners or people who may be housebound as having a pet can significantly reduce loneliness and has a number of health benefits.
“But to reduce the fees we would need an adoption sponsor who was able to cover some of the fee.”
Visit the Wet Noses Animal Rescue Facebook page for more information, including upcoming fundraisers like movie nights in addition to two cat yoga sessions.
