KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
It’s been a rough couple months at the Kodiak Animal Shelter as staff and volunteers juggled kittens, kittens-and more kittens.
KMXT’s Maggie Wall reports that the deluge of cats has subsided somewhat, but there are concerns about what a local spike in the cat population could mean in the future.
Normally, the shelter gets two or three litters of kittens in the spring. This year there were seven litters of kittens dropped off. Then something else unusual happened, the number of cat adoptions went way down. So for a while the Kodiak Animal Shelter found itself struggling to keep up with all the cats.
The animal shelter is run by the Humane Society of Kodiak. HSK board president is Karen Yashin says the shelter is happy to accept animals that don’t have homes. But for some reason, it seems there were an awfully lot of cats who found themselves homeless in recent months.
CUT Lots of Kittens 1 :50 "During that time…all at once."
Cat health can be like people health at times. When we get overly stressed, we tend to catch whatever bug is passing through. So too with animals, says Yashin. If you have a lot of cats that are strangers to each other, and add in the high stress of being in a shelter you have to expect that some will get sick. But, fortunately, that too, seems to be under control:
CUT Lots of Kittens 2 :44 "It was a tough……to be adopted."
Yashin says they usually have waiting lists for kittens, but not this spring.
CUT Lots of Kittens 3 :43 "I’ve been president…used to."
Yashin says that, while the shelter staff and the animals seem to have weathered this recent influx of cats. The bigger issue is what the sudden jump in the cat population around town may mean for later in the year. Cats that go through the shelter are all spayed or neutered. What will happen when the all kittens around town that did not get spayed or neutered reach breeding age?
CUT Lots of Kittens 4 :51 "These litters were….make it happen."
Humane Society of Kodiak Board President Karen Yashin.
Yashin says the Humane Society is currently targeting female cats who have not been spayed. She says that if you or someone you know has an unsprayed female cat and cannot afford the surgery to prevent future pregnancies, the shelter would like to help.
I’m Maggie Wall.
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