Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue finds new home

The Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue has a new home on Guelph Street.

In September, the rescue found out a proposed 27-floor high-rise apartment building was likely going up on their Charles St. E location. So they started looking for a new home, exploring over 25 locations before settling on Guelph Street.

"As soon as I mentioned cats, they’d squish up their nose and be like: 'No, no, no, no, no, no,'” said Tammy Tanner, founder of the Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue. “Until I met this place. This place, he was all for registered charities. This whole building is pet friendly."

So far, the move has been positive for the rescue group.

"No concerns. I can do any kind of construction I wanted. It was just… it was a breath of fresh air, actually," Tanner explained.

"It's amazing, it is so much cleaner,” said volunteer Heather Clements. “The landlord actually cares about us."

A cat at the Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue on March 15, 2024. (Colton Wiens/CTV Kitchener)

The rescue did have to downsize, going from a 3,000 square foot building to about 1,800 square feet. The old building had space for two different rooms for cats to lounge in, but now there’s only one.

"We downsized, but we also have a lot more foster homes. So we're still rescuing the same amount of cats. It's just they're not at the facility," Tanner said.

One of the animals at the Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue on March 15, 2024. (Colton Wiens/CTV Kitchener)

Besides the main cat lounge, there’s space for kittens, a room for quarantining new strays and an ICU and storage. There’s also now a dedicated room for litter boxes.

"It may be smaller and more compact, but everything is in its place, and that's what we needed," Clements added.

A cat at the Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue on March 15, 2024. (Colton Wiens/CTV Kitchener)

The rescue is run completely by volunteers and relies on donations from the public. Tanner said the new atmosphere seems to be helping with quicker adoptions and the cats are adjusting well.

"They all come out more often in this room. I don't know if it's because of the atmosphere or if it's because we downsized a little. I don't know. But the adoptions are going great," she explained.

At the new location Tanner isn’t responsible for property maintenance, and her overall monthly bill is about $1,000 cheaper. She said there are other benefits too.

"Our ceilings are not caving in, our parking lot isn't taken over by fences. It's right on the street parking. It's less crime in this area.”

One of the animals at the Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue on March 15, 2024. (Colton Wiens/CTV Kitchener)

"It's nice that we don't have carpet everywhere, because that was also hard for us to keep clean. So I find this place a lot cleaner and brighter," Clements added.

Currently there are seven kittens and 12 cats in care at the main rescue building, while five cats are in foster care and two others are at Pet Valu stores.

Potential pet parents can contact the rescue online to arrange meetings for adoption or attend one of their weekend lounge visits. Every Saturday the rescue is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for anyone who wants to look at adopting a cat or just wants to spend some time around the animals.