colonie chats errants

Solutions for stray cats in your neighbourhood

Problem: feline overpopulation

The welfare of stray cats is a collective responsibility. If these cats are not sterilized, they breed quickly. This creates feline overpopulation.

Living in a confined space, these animals must fight for their survival. Animal fights, lack of food, the spread of major diseases, and ill-intentioned people are just some of the obstacles they face.

These cats are often abandoned by their guardian or born from generations of homeless cats.

A responsible solution: the CSRM Program

It is possible to improve the fate of these animals in the community, and the number of stray cats can be stabilized by the identification and management of cat colonies. Through the Capture-Sterilization-Return-Maintain (CSRM) program, volunteer citizens are identified by the SPCA Roussillon as colony guardians or caregivers. These citizens collaborate with the SPCA Roussillon to sterilize cats in their colony, then become responsible for their well-being by providing them with food and shelter.

In the end, these community cats are healthy, occupy a defined geographical space, are less aggressive and help maintain the balance on the territory.

If you’re looking to keep stray cats off your property, here are some simple, ethical tips.

  • Avoid feeding them (otherwise they will come back!)
  • Keep your pets’ food indoors
  • Do not leave garbage bags accessible outside
  • Plant perennials and aromatic plants (lemon balm, plecantrus-caninus, Italian immortelle), ground covers or prickly plants to deter cats from settling in your garden. Mulch also discourages them from scratching and digging.
  • Get a motion-activated sprinkler (available on Amazon or in department stores)

1. CAPTURE

Citizens enrolled in the program capture stray cats from their colony using trap cages loaned by the SPCA Roussillon. Once captured, the cats are brought to the SPCA Roussillon by their colony guardian.

2. STERILIZATION

A veterinarian from the SPCA Roussillon sterilizes the cats and removes the tip of the left ear to identify them as members of a colony. Depending on their state of health, some may receive a dose of antibiotics or be kept under observation for a short period at the shelter.

3. RETURN

Citizens are responsible for bringing the cats back to the place where they were caught. They become community cats, member of a colony.

4. MAINTAIN

Colony guardians are responsible for providing food and water for cats at all times. The guardian must also provide shelters to protect cats from the weather.

In order to ensure the success of the surgeries and not to harm the health of the animals,
the sterilizations are only authorized from mid-April to the end of October.

You can however contact our team at any time
concerning a situation with stray cats.

NOTE: it is the responsibility of the SPCA Roussillon to assess the behavior of all captured cats and to possibly exclude them from the CSRM program to be placed for adoption.

Interested in the program?

To get started, confirm that your municipality is on this list

The CSRM program is offered for free to the citizens of these municipalities.

  • Beloeil
  • Candiac
  • Carignan
  • Chambly
  • Châteauguay
  • Delson
  • Hemmingford
  • Howick
  • La Prairie
  • Léry
  • Marieville
  • McMasterville
  • Mercier
  • Mont-Saint-Hilaire
  • Otterburn Park
  • Richelieu
  • Saint-Amable
  • Saint-Basile-le-Grand
  • Saint-Constant
  • Saint-Édouard
  • Saint-Étienne de Beauharnois
  • Saint-Isidore
  • Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur
  • Saint-Lambert
  • Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague
  • Saint-Marc sur Richelieu
  • Saint-Mathieu
  • Saint-Mathieu de Beloeil
  • Saint-Philippe
  • Saint-Urbain-Premier
  • Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois
  • Sainte-Catherine
  • Très Saint-Sacrement
  • Varennes
  • Verchères
Register for the program

If you are a citizen of Brossard

The CSRM program is managed by the city of Brossard’s public works, who collaborate with our team for the sterilization of stray cats. You can contact them at 450-923-6311.

If your municipality is not listed above

Communicate your desire to have access to such a program to your municipal assembly.