By Penny Edwards, ARC Shelter Manager
Every year kitten season comes around and overwhelms shelters, no matter what else is going on in the world. From March through October, kitten season is in full swing, much like baseball. In many of our Southern states, the impact varies, and they rarely get even a break. Floods, hurricanes, other forces of Nature, and COVID itself will not deter Kitten Season.
In fact, most of the animal lovers out there have realized that the past year has seen scaled back veterinary appointments, and very limited big spay/neuter events. All this means is that fewer female cats were spayed, more kittens are born and shelters and rescues are alarmed that this could be one of the longest and worst Kitten Seasons of all time.
I have a feeling that we will be seeing more of those cute little faces this year and although we love kittens, there is always a limit on what we can handle.
Even though things may look bleak at the moment, there are many ways you can help. The best way to deal with Kitten Season is prevention: Spay and Neuter your cats.
All these babies need extra nutritious kitten food and of course, there is their medical care that needs to be covered. We live by this motto: Fix At Month Four. We try to spay or neuter all our kittens at no more than four months.
If you would like to help by caring for and fostering some of the kittens and cats that will arrive at ARC, please fill out our Foster Contract by clicking, printing and filling out the pdf document at the link above or fill out this Word Fostering Contract and email it to Penny Edwards, ARC Shelter Manager. This will go a long way to help us take care of many of these babies.
Another way to help prevent an abundance of kittens is to help Community Cats get spayed and neutered.
RESOURCES: NOW IS THE TIME TO SPAY AND NEUTER
There are multiple resources out there: You can reach out to our local Hardin County Animal Shelter and borrow a humane trap, and schedule a surgery with them to get your captured Community Cats altered.
There is Alley Cat Advocates in Louisville and the nationally-acclaimed Alley Cat Allies, founded in 1990, both of whose mission is to provide for the humane treatment of unowned cats by directing a Trap-Neuter-Return Program in the safest, most efficient and cost-effective way possible.
Last but not least, there’s Cookie’s Fund, created in 2016, and run by volunteers of the Animal Refuge Center. This program helps Community Cats by funding low-cost spay and neuter options. This program has spayed and neutered hundreds of cats in Hardin County. Cookie’s Fund is funded solely by donations and YOU can do your part by making a donation HERE.
Many communities have free or low-cost spay/neuter for those who cannot afford the procedure. Contact your veterinarian or local animal shelter to find out what programs are available. Another resource is North Shore Animal League America’s SpayUSA, a national spay/neuter referral network; use the page’s search feature to find clinics by zip code or call call 800-248-SPAY. All of these programs are low cost or no cost spay and neuter resources for our community.
So now you can clearly see the integral part that our community plays in helping to control the pet overpopulation problem in Hardin County, Kentucky. With your help, the Animal Refuge Center can continue to make a difference in the lives of homeless pets…for many years to come.