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Cat in labour sent in taxi, births two on the way

Kittens’ unusual arrival marks a first for the Patti Dale animal shelter
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A Langley woman sent a cat in labour via taxi to the Patti Dale Animal Shelter last Tuesday. Enroute

At the Patti Dale animal shelter in Langley, staff are used to surprises, usually coming in the form of meowing kittens left in a box at the front door or in the parking lot.

But last week, a mom and kittens arrived in the most unusual way.

A cat in labour was sent to the shelter via taxi from the Langley City area. A woman phoned the shelter ahead of time saying she was sending the pregnant cat in a cab.

“We get a lot of strange calls, so at first we didn’t really believe it,” said shelter manager Sean Baker.

But just as the woman said, the cat, named Gumball, arrived along with another cat Soda Pop. The only thing was, Gumball had already delivered two kittens in the cab.

“The umbilical cord was still attached with both kittens,” Baker said. The new mother appeared terrified and desperate and hadn’t cleaned the babies.

So staff had to do some work, including tying off the cord with some string found in the office.

To the staff’s surprise, a third kitten came later. Now mom and kittens (named Hubba Bubba, Juicy Fruit and Chiclet) are living with a volunteer foster mom and will be ready for adoption sometime in early May.

“It certainly is the most unusual way we have had a cat surrendered before,” said Baker.

The other cat Soda Pop is pregnant too, said Baker. She is due any day.

This strange event was on Tuesday, one day after the day the shelter held its Cupcake Day fundraiser, and also the day of the big snowfall.

“Despite the weather, people managed to raise more than $7,000 for the shelter,” he said.

While the focus should have been on cupcakes that day, two other abandoned cats and their kittens were surrendered to the shelter.

“We will have a lot of kittens up for adoption in May,” said Baker.



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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