// November 13th, 2010 // No Comments » // Information Items, Recent Posts
Winnipeg’s “Cat Doc” – Dr. James Broughton
With our typically cold Winnipeg winter fast approaching I’ll refer you back to my website blog entitled “Just Think About It” (archives Oct 4, 2009) and follow with this heart warming story about “Winnipeg’s Cat Doc” better known as Dr. James Broughton of Exclusively Cats Veterinary Hospital in Winnipeg. As the name suggests, his full service hospital is dedicated to feline care.
It started with a mass email campaign a year ago looking for homes for a litter of four feral kittens. A woman named Sherrie replied to my friend saying she would be willing to take a kitten and provide a good home. I had never met Sherrie (and still have not) but she assured us she was indeed a responsible pet owner – perfect! Sherrie adopted one of the kittens – it had adjusted to the new home with Sherrie and family and they adored their little kitten named Jassi. A few weeks later Sherrie emailed again with a kitten update and also said that her brother was a Winnipeg veterinarian who had offered to spay the Feral Queen if I could trap her – a truly generous offer from a vet whom I had never met and in all my years dealing with ferals, the very first offer of its kind. It was too cold (winter) at this point to try and trap the mother and when spring rolled around it was obvious she was going to have another litter – not good news as now I could not attempt to trap her plus would have another litter of feral kittens to deal with. During this time one of my own house cats took ill so I ventured down to Exclusively Cats on Corydon to meet Dr. Broughton in person. The diagnosis – diabetes, but could be nicely managed. In subsequent visits with my own diabetic cat, who is doing extremely well and discussions about ferals, I came to know Dr. Broughton as a vet who was willing to go above and beyond to assist me with the feral issue in my neighbourhood – a true credit to his profession and for once in my experiences, a vet who willingly put “business” aside and stepped up to provide a service. Dr. Broughton’s 25+ years of veterinary practice and his specialization in feline care is obvious, he is very knowledgeable about ferals and their unique behaviours, and struck me has having a genuine concern for them as well. As he put it, “they didn’t ask to be put in those circumstances” – so true. Feral cats are a product of human neglect and irresponsible pet ownership. He felt that helping me in this case was the “right thing to do”.
In late May 2010 the expected spring litter of four feral kittens arrived and Dr. Broughton offered to take them in when they were weaned and would help find homes for them through his clinic. I had only been expecting his initial offer of assistance with spaying the mother cat and was overwhelmed by this second act of kindness. I trapped the kittens and took them in to Exclusively Cats hissing and spitting all the way. Dr. Broughton examined them, gave them shots, treated some minor eye infection and de-wormed them all. Dr. Broughton and his family even adopted one of the kittens from this litter. An assistant at the clinic provided homes for two and another client of his took the fourth. I had been trying a long time to trap the feral queen – she is a cagey one and was very wary of anything unusual in her territory. After many hours and attempts to trap her I was finally successful and rushed her down to the clinic one evening after clinic hours as Dr. Broughton graciously put himself “on call” for this special case. He not only sterilized and vaccinated her but kept her in the clinic until she could safely be released without injury. Mission accomplished !
Below: May 2010 litter in their nest just a few days old & the Feral mother drinking at the bird bath in my garden
Up until this point I had been trapping, finding homes for feral kittens in the neighbourhood and having them altered (at my own expense) in an effort to control the local feral population. Now, with the feral queen sterilized courtesy of Dr. Broughton, and with the remaining three ferals in this territory already altered, the population is stable in my immediate area. The service Dr. Broughton has provided was above and beyond my expectations. The feral queen remains healthy and no longer will be responsible for reproducing unwanted kittens. The courteous and caring staff (Denise & Debbie) at the Exclusively Cats Clinic were so supportive, especially with the little feral kittens that they lovingly cuddled and carried when socializing them. They also exercised great patience and care with the very “wild” momma cat – a very challenging clinic patient indeed.
Below: Feral litter nursing – they are about 5 weeks old here
It is such a relief this fall not to have new feral kittens in my neighbourhood, to know the mother cat is safe and looked after and best of all to realize there is a vet, Dr. James Broughton of Exclusively Cats Veterinary Hospital, who took it upon himself and came forth to help in such a significant way. Kudos and heartfelt thanks to you Dr. Broughton!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if other local vets stepped up in this manner every now and then? What a difference it could make in helping control the feral cat population in a city that does not have an established feral cat program. The Winnipeg Humane Society receives funds from the City for “kennelling” of trapped cats be they feral or domestic and in the case of the ferals the outcome is usually a death sentence because they have no “owner”, would not be identified with tattoos, and in the case of an older kitten or cat difficult to handle as they have not had any opportunity to be socialized. I often wonder why, instead of subsidizing costs for euthanizing thousands of cats at the Humane Society, the City could not find a way to direct some funds elsewhere and reimburse veterinary clinics for sterilizing true ferals as an alternate and humane method of feral population control. Trap Neuter & Release (TNR) is a sound solution. Winnipeg Vets – “Just Think About it”
~Sharon
