The Comfie Cat Shelter in Orillia is facing a severe crisis and is at risk of closing down unless urgent action is taken. The shelter, which has been a cornerstone of the community’s animal welfare efforts, is grappling with a significant shortage of volunteers, leading to a dangerous backlog in essential operations.
Matt Wimpory, the shelter’s manager, reports a “massive decline” in volunteer numbers over the summer, which has severely hampered the shelter’s ability to function. “We’ve had to abandon our usual roles to handle basic tasks like cleaning and administering medications,” Wimpory said. “The workload keeps piling up, and we’ve reached a point where we need to halt everything just to catch up.”
In response to the crisis, the Comfie Cat Shelter has temporarily stopped accepting new animals, a decision Wimpory describes as heartbreaking but necessary. “Turning away a box of kittens because we simply can’t cope is incredibly difficult, but we need to pause and regroup,” he explained.
The volunteer shortage has been attributed largely to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Wimpory, this summer marks the first time since lockdowns lifted that people have had the freedom to fully enjoy their summer, leading to a decline in volunteerism. “This is the first unrestricted summer in a long time, and people are eager to do things they’ve missed out on,” he said.
The shelter’s situation is dire. Wimpory fears that if the current trend continues, the shelter could shut down within 60 days. “We’re at a breaking point. If we don’t take action now, this place could be gone in two months,” he warned.
In an effort to avert closure, the shelter is restructuring its volunteer program, offering more flexible roles to accommodate different schedules. “We’re finding that people are more willing to commit to smaller tasks, even if it’s just an hour of their time,” Wimpory said. Although this approach is starting to yield results, progress has been slow.
With the new school year approaching, Wimpory hopes that high school co-op students might step in to fill some of the gaps. In addition, he is calling on local government officials, including Mayor Don McIsaac and the Orillia City Council, to provide more substantial support.
“Orillia is one of the few communities in Ontario without cat bylaws, and it’s causing chaos,” Wimpory stated. The shelter is currently overwhelmed with over 180 cats, largely due to the lack of regulations governing pet ownership in the area. Wimpory argues that other municipalities have implemented bylaws that require cats to be kept indoors and limit the number of cats per household, which helps control the population.
While Wimpory acknowledges that establishing and enforcing such bylaws would be costly, he believes the revenue generated from fines could offset the expenses. “The fines from violations could turn this into a revenue stream for the city,” he said.
The shelter currently offers significant discounts on spaying and neutering services through a veterinary partner in South Barrie, but Wimpory argues that Orillia needs its own low-cost clinic. He suggests the city should allocate $10,000 to $20,000 to fund these services locally. “The number one reason people surrender their cats is that they can’t afford the $900 cost to spay or neuter them,” he said. “If this service were more affordable, we’d see a reduction in stray cats.”
Despite his efforts, Wimpory is skeptical that the city will implement these changes. He urges residents to contact MPP Jill Dunlop to advocate for greater support from the municipal government. “We’ve been operating without any help from the city since 2005. It’s time for them to step up,” he asserted.
Shawn Crawford, Orillia’s Director of Legislative, Building, Parking, and Transit Services, noted that the city has explored cat regulation options in the past. In 2008, a council committee reviewed various strategies, including cat licensing, bylaws to prevent cats from roaming freely, and the feasibility of a high-volume spay/neuter clinic. However, the council ultimately chose to implement a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (T.N.V.R.) pilot project as a more humane and cost-effective approach to managing the stray cat population. That program was discontinued in 2012, and no new cat-specific regulations or programs have been introduced since due to the high costs associated with enforcement.
Crawford indicated that if the council decides to revisit the issue of cat regulation, they would consider input from the Comfie Cat Shelter, as well as best practices from other municipalities and the Ontario SPCA.
As the shelter struggles to stay afloat, Wimpory’s call to action remains clear: without immediate volunteer support and governmental intervention, Orillia’s Comfie Cat Shelter may soon have to close its doors for good.
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