Closing its doors, but its legacy will live on

St. James-Assiniboia

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This article was published 21/05/2025 (328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Craig Street Cats is closing its adoption centre, an occasion which will be marked with an on-site ‘everything must go’ sale on May 24 and 25.

Crates, carriers, shelving units, office supplies, Christmas decorations, two refrigerators — almost everything from inside of the centre, aside from what’s spoken for or unable to be sold, will be ready for the taking. As well, the small shop at the front of the building will have a 50 per cent discount on any artwork, jewelry or craft items still in stock.

CSC’s lease is up at the end of the month, and the adoption centre will be inherited by Tails of Freedom Rescue, a local cat and dog rescue known for its collaborative work with Cleocatra Café. At press time, CSC, which is based in St. James, still had just under 30 adoptable cats in its care — including Piglet, a 10-day old kitten (not old enough to go home just yet), who was recently found on his own.

Although the adoption centre is shuttering, CSC will continue to work on colony management, training colony managers, post-adoption support, and more. Some of the cats may go to “forever fosters,” which CSC would need to continue to fund.

Craig Street Cats was never supposed to evolve into what it is today, according to founder Lynne Scott. The original plan was to fix and release the original cat colony on Craig Street — which consisted of about 40 cats at the time she started — and move on.

“By the point that I was ready to stop, the city (residents) found out what I was doing,” she said. Suddenly, she was getting phone calls about cats hiding under porches and abandoned kittens all the time.

For an issue such as cat colony management, sheltering isn’t the answer, she continued, but rather to catch, spay or neuter, and release to help mitigate the amount of kittens being born.

“Every intact cat living out on our streets contributes three living kittens to our community every year … (which adds up to) 3,000 kittens every year, and 75 per cent of kittens die before they can reproduce,” she said. “A female cat will be a great-grandmother by the end of its first year.”

Scott added, “I could have 100,000 square feet and never be below capacity.”

The remaining two cats from the original Craig Street colony died last year. They both lived to be 17, Scott said. And for all the work it took, that one colony was and remains just one of many in the city.

“The other programs will continue for the next 10 years,” Scott said, adding that by then, she’ll be 80 and more than ready to retire — and so far, retirement isn’t how she initially thought it would be. She was hoping to pass the work on to a new face, but “the list of people prepared to work 100 hours a week for no pay is very short.”

Although the centre closing is bittersweet, Scott said she’s ready for the next step: “I’m ready to say ‘thank you very much’ and move on.”

The sale will take place at 16-1421 St. James St. from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. There will also be a barbecue from noon to 2 p.m on both days.

CSC is not-for-profit and volunteer run, and will continue to accept monetary donations. Even $5 a month donation goes a long way, Scott said.

For more information, visit craigstreetcats.ca or Craig Street Cats on Facebook.