It's Kitten Season

Spring is finally here! That means (among other things) that kitten season is starting.

Every year across the United States,  millions of kittens are brought into the world. Some stats say 70,000 kittens are born each day. There are about 300 million people living in the United States. That means that, every year, about one kitten per person is born. How many cats have you owned in your lifetime? I'm just going to guess here that that number doesn't match the years you've lived on this planet. The problem is that there are just too many cats.

What does WCAHS plan to do about it? Well, for starters, we work with the Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program (MNSNAP) to set up spay/neuter clinics in our community. MNSNAP provides high-quality, low-cost surgeries to people who otherwise might not be able to afford to fix their pets.

catspay.org

We also trap feral cats around the Waseca community. The cats are spayed/neutered and vaccinated and then we find them farm homes. We realize that removing cats from the community causes a "hole" that other ferals then fill, but many times the ferals simply are not welcome where they were at before. The feral cat problem is an uphill climb, but we're willing to do our part and chip away at it as much as we can.

From MNSNAP's Facebook page

What can you do? For starters, sterilize your own pets! If you want a kitten, there are plenty to be found on Petfinder. Unless you are breeding for show and at breed standard, there's really no need to bring more cats into the world.

You can also foster! WCAHS is pretty short on foster homes right now, and currently we aren't set up to receive large numbers of cats. If you can keep a cat safe and indoors (or have the desire and skill to raise kittens!), please send an e-mail to wcahsadoptions@gmail.com and we'll get you set up as a foster home.

We always need help trapping. E-mail wcahsadoptions@gmail.com and we'll let you know when we're trapping next. If you want to help trap but don't actually want to risk bug bites, mud, and cat scratches, a donation of cat food, live animal traps, or money (to pay for the sterilizations) are always welcome.

Finally, adopt, don't shop! We've got a wide array of cats for every home, from single person to big family to farm homes. Check out our Petfinder site to learn more. And don't forget, we're running our May special this month--all adoption fees for adult cats have been reduced to $25!