BC SPCA seizes 20 cats from ‘unsanitary conditions’ in Delta home

The BC SPCA says 20 cats have been seized from “unsanitary conditions” in a Delta home after an animal neglect investigation.

Piles of feces as high as five inches and an overwhelming ammonia smell filled the rooms of the home where the cats were saved from, the SPCA says.

“The litter boxes were overflowing and the few pieces of furniture in the home were soaked in urine,” said Eileen Drever, the BC SPCA’s senior officer protection and stakeholder relations.

It was obvious the owners had been overwhelmed by the 18 cats and two kittens in their possession, Drever adds.

Four of the rescued cats were taken into veterinary care and the others were taken to the BC SPCA animal centre for assessment.

“Thankfully by removing the cats from the environment we relieved a lot of their distress, but they all smelled strongly of urine,” said Drever.

“One of the cats has diabetes, one had a cyst on their tail that had to be removed and one of the cats had a fever but has already responded well to antibiotics. Another cat required tooth extractions.”

The two kittens of the bunch are healthy and now living with a volunteer BC SPCA foster parent.

Drever says given what the cats have been through, they’re considerably friendly.

“One of the cats has an adorable trait of ‘smiling’ when she meows,” she said.

This is the second large intake of cats for the BC SPCA since the beginning of 2024. Earlier in the year, 40 cats were surrendered in the Okanagan.

“This has been a busy start to the year for us in terms of the number of cats that have come into our care,” said Drever.

“It puts a lot of pressure on animal centre staff to find volunteer fosters for all of these cats, not to mention the costs of veterinary care, food and enrichment.”

It’s not yet known when the cats will be available for adoption. The BC SPCA says it will not be recommending charges.