Cat seen locked out on Burnaby balcony ‘for months’ now in care, BC SPCA says

The cat first came to the attention of neighbours in the Burnaby building who said the it had been locked on a balcony, in the elements, for about three months.

A cat that generated a lot of social media attention recently is now in care, the BC SPCA confirmed.

The cat first came to the attention of neighbours in the Burnaby building on Hazel Street, who said the cat had been locked on a balcony, in the elements, for about three months and they could hear its distressing meows.

Neighbours told Global News that the BC SPCA did come to the building once, but advised they could not proceed because they were not able to connect with the building’s management.

Neighbours said they also contacted the concierge and the building manager about the cat and posted about the issue on social media.

In a statement to Global News, Thomas McGreer, vice-president of AWM Alliance Real Estate Group, which manages the building, confirmed that efforts to deal with the issue are ongoing.

“Regrettably, our office staff are becoming the subject of verbal abuse by concerned neighbours calling in, presumably due to the social media posting,” McGreer said.

“We appreciate and share the concerns expressed over the well-being of the animal, but we are unable to discuss or comment on the situation outside of the Strata Corporation and its governing body. We hope all concerned individuals will understand this.”

Kaila Wolf, senior director of media and internal communications with the BC SPCA, said an investigation was launched with the animal protection team and attention to the cat’s plight has ramped up in the past 48 hours due to the social media attention.