Meow-velous trivia night to help local feral cats
You don't have to be a cat lover
to attend Cats' Night Out at the
Dawghouse, but it'll help a lot.
Progressive Animal Welfare Services' second annual trivia night on February 25 will put your kitty knowledge to the test with dozens of cat-related trivia questions. The event will raise money for PAWS' Trap, Neuter, Return program.
“We're recognizing that there are a lot of outdoor, stray, feral cats that do not necessarily want to interact with humans, but they have a place in our community,” explained Laurie Ristmae, PAWS director and trivia night emcee. “They certainly deserve to be healthy, and yet when they're continuously populating, that leads to suffering and death and ridiculous numbers.”
The TNR program has been developed to fix feral cats in a safe and healthy way. They are captured in a humane trap, are spayed or neutered by a veterinarian, then released back into their colony location.
The money raised from trivia night will purchase traps, which cost around $150 each. “A lot of these kitties, you can't just go out and catch them — they don't want any part of you, they're living their own life,” Ristmae explained. “They need to be trapped with humane trapping devices.” The plan is to purchase at least 10 new traps and lend them out to people who have volunteered to help with the TNR program.
Locally, the feral cats that are trapped will be spayed/neutered by the surgeon at the East Village Animal Hospital (1777 Dundas St.), a clinic that offers medical services to lower-income pet owners in our community, including students on OSAP.
Ristmae said she would like to see lots of Fanshawe students come out to trivia night on February 25. “Fanshawe students must be super clever, for one thing — we want a whole bunch of clever students [to answer our trivia questions],” she said with a laugh. “I would love for Fanshawe students to come out and learn a little more about TNR and the clinic services in general.”
Last February's trivia night at the Dawghouse was a huge success, raising money for EVAH as it was just starting to get off the ground. “We were in the midst of raising money to do renovations and get our doors open,” Ristmae said. “This year, because of amazing community partners and donations and volunteers, we are open, so the money can go towards a program we support.”
The event coincides with World Spay Day, which raises awareness about the importance of fixing animals around the world (more information is available at worldspayday.org).
A few days before that, EVAH is hosting its own special day, Webber World Spay Day, on February 22, thanks to a donation from the Webber family. This spay day will focus on spaying and neutering barn cats brought in by rural property owners. More information about that will be announced at trivia night.
Cats' Night Out at the Dawghouse includes trivia, a silent auction and door prizes. Tickets are $20, and teams of four will compete for top honours. Email paws.swontario@gmail.com for tickets. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., trivia begins at 7:30 at Dawghouse Pub & Eatery (699 Wilkins St.).
For more information on PAWS, go to pawslondon.ca. For more on EVAH, including information on how to sign up to volunteer or to become a client of the clinic, go to evah.ca.
Progressive Animal Welfare Services' second annual trivia night on February 25 will put your kitty knowledge to the test with dozens of cat-related trivia questions. The event will raise money for PAWS' Trap, Neuter, Return program.
“We're recognizing that there are a lot of outdoor, stray, feral cats that do not necessarily want to interact with humans, but they have a place in our community,” explained Laurie Ristmae, PAWS director and trivia night emcee. “They certainly deserve to be healthy, and yet when they're continuously populating, that leads to suffering and death and ridiculous numbers.”
The TNR program has been developed to fix feral cats in a safe and healthy way. They are captured in a humane trap, are spayed or neutered by a veterinarian, then released back into their colony location.
The money raised from trivia night will purchase traps, which cost around $150 each. “A lot of these kitties, you can't just go out and catch them — they don't want any part of you, they're living their own life,” Ristmae explained. “They need to be trapped with humane trapping devices.” The plan is to purchase at least 10 new traps and lend them out to people who have volunteered to help with the TNR program.
Locally, the feral cats that are trapped will be spayed/neutered by the surgeon at the East Village Animal Hospital (1777 Dundas St.), a clinic that offers medical services to lower-income pet owners in our community, including students on OSAP.
Ristmae said she would like to see lots of Fanshawe students come out to trivia night on February 25. “Fanshawe students must be super clever, for one thing — we want a whole bunch of clever students [to answer our trivia questions],” she said with a laugh. “I would love for Fanshawe students to come out and learn a little more about TNR and the clinic services in general.”
Last February's trivia night at the Dawghouse was a huge success, raising money for EVAH as it was just starting to get off the ground. “We were in the midst of raising money to do renovations and get our doors open,” Ristmae said. “This year, because of amazing community partners and donations and volunteers, we are open, so the money can go towards a program we support.”
The event coincides with World Spay Day, which raises awareness about the importance of fixing animals around the world (more information is available at worldspayday.org).
A few days before that, EVAH is hosting its own special day, Webber World Spay Day, on February 22, thanks to a donation from the Webber family. This spay day will focus on spaying and neutering barn cats brought in by rural property owners. More information about that will be announced at trivia night.
Cats' Night Out at the Dawghouse includes trivia, a silent auction and door prizes. Tickets are $20, and teams of four will compete for top honours. Email paws.swontario@gmail.com for tickets. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., trivia begins at 7:30 at Dawghouse Pub & Eatery (699 Wilkins St.).
For more information on PAWS, go to pawslondon.ca. For more on EVAH, including information on how to sign up to volunteer or to become a client of the clinic, go to evah.ca.
