A central Alberta rescue says it’s overwhelmed with kittens this season.
Amanda McClughan, co-executive director of Saving Grace Animal Society in Alix, said the rescue has seen triple the number of kittens so far this spring and summer.
“Not a single day goes by that there isn’t anywhere from one to 20 requests for cats, or pregnant cats, or orphan kittens, or moms with kittens, that need to come in,” McClughan said.
She said the kittens are coming from both farms and communities where people fail to neuter their cats, but overpopulation is a big problem on farms where owners are resistant to idea. However, there are also farms that are taking responsibility.
“We’re doing cat clinics quarterly where we can spay and neuter upwards of 125 cats and all those cats are coming from farm properties where the owners have recognized that they have a problem. They don’t want to see the moms fighting for their lives while trying to still feed their kittens, cats being eaten by coyotes, and cats getting sick because there are so many on the property.
“If we were seeing this with dogs, everyone would be up in arms. It is 2022 and we don’t need to have litters upon litters on every farm. Altered cats can catch mice too. Things just need to change. We need to do better.”
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McClughan said at this time of year the rescue is also in competition with farms giving away free kittens that have not received vaccinations, medical care, or been neutered.
“You re-home that kitten, it gets out one time, has an accidental litter, and you’ve added 10 more cats into this world when there’s already a shortage of homes for the adoptable cats.”
She said rescues are facing a cat crisis, and people with cats who call are going to be put on a wait list, but they will move up the list and the cats will be taken into care. Pregnant moms, moms with kittens, and orphaned kittens are put into foster care. Unfortunately there’s a shortage of foster homes because the demand is so high. Some foster families are taking multiple litters.
“It’s just not safe for them to stay in shelter. Their immune systems aren’t great, and it’s much less stressful for them to be in foster homes.”
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McClughan said any donations, or supplies for cats, would be greatly appreciated. To help Saving Grace visit www.savinggracecanada.com.
Central Alberta Human Society, in Red Deer, says kitten season has been steady but manageable this year with about 30 kittens in care.
“In the past, we frequently witnessed multiple cases of kitten litters as young as 24-hours old dropped off to us or left at our front door, which is a very typical event for all rescue organizations, but we have yet to experience an abundance like this in our current season,” the society said in a statement.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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