DOUG FIELD/STUFF
Assistant Manager Katrina McKeown setting up shelves at Pet Central ahead of Thursday's opening..
A new pet shop opening in Timaru will only sell cats provided by rescue charity Street Cats South Canterbury, a policy already followed by the town's other pet store.
Pet Central opened its first store outside Christchurch on Thursday, on the corner of Theodosia and Elizabeth streets.
The store's policy was to only sell cats provided by rescue groups because of Pet Central owner Linda Ashworth's aversion to "backdoor breeding", which involved people making money through the purposeful breeding of pets.
DOUG FIELD/STUFF
Pet Central on the corner of Theodosia St and Elizabeth St in Timaru to be ready for opening day on February 1.
Both Pet Central and For Pets' Sake will use Street Cats South Canterbury for their kittens.
Street Cats programme director Karen Sole said the purpose of her charity was to find, desex, and rehome stray cats.
Having two pet shops take on its kittens had "absolutely helped" with adopting stray cats out, Sole said.
Sole said there were 80 stray cats currently under the care of the charity. Alongside desexing, finding homes for the animals was an important step in reducing the population.
South Canterbury SPCA manager Barry Fairbrother said Street Cats alone had alleviated the number of stray cats coming through the SPCA.
The SPCA found homes for 40 cats during January and had seven currently available for adoption.
While Sole and Fairbrother said adopting a cat from a breeder was a personal choice, author Aimee Duff said stray cats were more in need of homes.
"I'd like all cats to have a home but I think it's important to give a home to the cats who were here before," Duff said.
Duff, who published the book Don't Shop, Adopt! - South Canterbury in 2016, said she was "pleasantly surprised" to learn where the stores were getting their cats.
"I think it's a really cool idea," she said.
As Duff researched her book, she found significantly more people were finding stray cats to adopt through social media than from stores.
"It's a really good platform to get the word out," she said.
Ashworth said she got the idea to start the shop after selling a dog door on Trade Me in 2005.
"One thing led to another and now we're opening our fourth store," she said.
She said online shopping "had its place" but the expertise offered by staff in her physical stores made them more successful.
"Bricks and mortar go a long way in this business."
Cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, and fish will be sold at the shop.
Cats are housed in a large playroom while another hosts small animals. An aviary was set up for birds and a tank for fish.
"We don't believe in small cages or fishbowls."
Dogs will not be sold. Instead the store planned to host adoption days where rescue groups would bring in dogs to be rehomed.
Pet supplies, from food to fashion to flea treatments, are also sold at the shop.
The positive response on social media and about town regarding the store's opening had been "overwhelming", she said.
Ashworth said she had no plans to take the shop elsewhere but that did not rule out doing so in the future.
Pet Central Timaru is set to throw a fundraising weekend on February 17 and 18.
The event will feature displays, face painting, a chocolate wheel, people talking about their products and spot prizes based on those products.
Atwill said she was definitely not opposed to competition coming to Timaru.
"It keeps you on your toes," she said.
"If I don't have something, I don't have any problem sending them down to Pet Central."
She agreed with Ashworth's stance that online trade did not impact physical pet shops.
"If you run out of food for your dog you can't wait three days for it to arrive," she said.
Atwill's shop was also planning adoption days, with dogs from Greyhounds as Pets.
- Stuff
