Community Heroes
New feature celebrates people who make Cape Breton a better place to live.
GLACE BAY — Leo MacIsaac’s stop for coffee with a friend has ended up improving the lives of hundred of feral cats in Sydney, Glace Bay and New Waterford.
MacIsaac had been out for a drive with a friend back in 1999 and had gone to pick up a coffee at the Walmart in Sydney River when he noticed food dishes behind the store. He then noticed several thin, pitiful cats who looked as though they needed a meal — right then and there. The Glace Bay Food Bank volunteer wasn’t about to let them down.
“I bought some food and started feeding them and as I was going out there in the morning to see them, I found out there were other people in that area that were doing the exact same thing,” said MacIsaac. “So what I did was get a meeting going so instead of everyone going on a Wednesday, we’d split our time up so someone would go on Wednesday and someone else would go on Tuesday and so on.
“So if there were seven of us there, we’d get the week covered. It was just out of pity for the cats.”
The local news media found out about the group and their work was publicized. And that in turn, led to finding out there were more cats in need.
“Someone came to me in my hometown and said what are you doing out in Sydney River, all you have to do is go down in Glace Bay,” said MacIsaac. “So I got volunteers together for that and we’ve got three colonies here in Glace Bay that we’re actually looking after. We also have them outside of Glace Bay, in Sydney and New Waterford as well. Most of our concentration now is in Glace Bay.”
The Cape Breton Feline Support Society was founded as a private charity in March of 2005. It now has 14 volunteers and looks after several colonies of feral cats in Sydney, Glace Bay and New Waterford. The cats they look after receive fresh food and water, live in sheltered, insulated homes and are spayed and neutered.