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Cat rescue thrilled with new Grand Forks location deal

The City of Grand Forks has signed a 10-year deal for a bigger cat shelter in North Ruckle.

The president of Boundary Helping Hands Feline Rescue Society is thrilled about the Second Street location considering they are “bursting at the seams” in Johnson Flats.

“I could not be more thrilled. So needed and I’m so glad. It’s definitely a needed resource in this city for sure,” Kimberly Feeny said in an interview with Vista Radio.

Feeny agrees the $1 a year lease for the next decade is comforting.

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“I’d love to say, you know, in five years maybe we could take a bite out of this cat overpopulation problem. But, to date, right now we are actually at double the intake of what we were this time last year,” she said.

The shelter has taken in 140 cats as of Sunday. The society recently celebrated its 100th adoption. Forty-two of those adoptions were kittens. There are 23 kittens in foster care and the shelter has a female cat with a litter on the way.

There are 25 adult cats at the shelter and 34 cats and kittens in foster homes.

“We can’t encourage enough the spaying and neutering of your pets…this overpopulation is really out of control.”

What’s contributing to the overpopulation? Feeny says there are a “few individuals” against sterilizing their pets. “We’re constantly taking in kittens from these folks and trying to find them homes and in the meantime the mom getting pregnant every few months.” A female cat can have three to four litters a year.

There are also property owners in problem areas who won’t permit live trapping by the society in order sterilize feral felines.

As for the new location at 7114 Second Street, Feeny says there will a bit of work to do when they move in October. They have to wait until the dike construction workers finish using the building for accommodations.

“It is definitely usable as is but, of course, we’d want to put in some proper cat-proof flooring and such. It’s that type of stuff that can be done once we’ve moved in,” Feeny said.

Under the agreement, Helping Hands will also be responsible for upkeep of the building.

Feeny says they are always looking for foster families and will need help with the move this fall. You can find more information and contact information on their website here.

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