For the majority of this year, the Estevan Humane Society has had a higher amount of cats than normal, and thanks to bylaw officers catching strays and people turning cats in, there are now about 85 cats all at the Humane Society.

According to Manager Michaela Pho, there are enough cats coming in that they may have to start limiting how many they can bring in.

"We don't want to turn anybody away but we're kind of at that point where, unless we have a foster home lined up, we kind of have to turn them away and just base it on case to case. We have 85 cats down here, it's insane."

There are measures in place to make sure that if someone wants to help out with the shelter, even if they can't adopt or be a foster home, they can still come down and do their part. They have a setup on their Facebook page to schedule an appointment to volunteer and help care for the animals.

"We do have days that are more urgent than others that we need a little bit more help but it's always based on what you're able to offer us."

Now that things are opening up again in the province and kids are all going back to school, Pho says there has not been a major uptick of pets being turned back into the shelter. That said, separation anxiety in animals who are being left alone a little more often now is a very common thing.

One way to try to limit that anxiety in pets is to try and associate you leaving the home with something positive for your pet such as a treat or game of some kind.

"Providing them with puzzle game toys or some kind of treat to keep that separation anxiety at bay. Another good option is daycare. We have a couple of daycare facilities for dogs in Estevan and my dog goes to daycare. It keeps him busy and even just once a week is enough to mentally stimulate and physically stimulate them enough to keep them calm while you're away."

The other thing to watch in the next while is pets who have breathing issues could have some trouble with the smoke haze in the air. Shorter snouted breeds of dogs and pets with certain health conditions should be monitored for more laziness or lethargy. If there are any signs, contact a professional and they can help you further.