SouthCoast Animal Shelters Are Overrun with Kittens, Need Help

First, it was Forever Paws Animal Shelter in Fall River, and now it’s happening on a bigger scale. The SouthCoast seems to have an influx of kittens and shelters are running out of room.

Moby Kit Rescue is a non-profit feline rescue that serves the entire SouthCoast and it has been forced to cease intake due to a lack of adoptions.

It’s time to find more homes for these cats and come up with solutions for the future.

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Animal Shelters Are Overwhelmed with Kittens

“I personally have been in rescue for over ten years and have never seen it this bad,” said Emilly Melendez, the Treasurer and Surgery Coordinator for Moby Kit Rescue.

She said it’s typical to have an influx of kittens around this time of year, but veterinarians are saying it will take an average of five to seven years before the “kitty boom” is under control.

Moby Kit works with other rescues and shelters to transfer animals once their rescue is close to capacity, but Melendez says it’s not even an option at this point.

“We are at the point that other (shelters) don’t even have room, so we have halted our Trap, Neuter, and Release (TNR) efforts as well, where we get 97% of our kittens,” she said.

Without the TNR effort in place, kittens will be born outside and eventually become “too old” to socialize and adopt out.

“This will make it so they have to go back out once we finally can trap them,” said Melendez.

In short, overcrowded shelters mean more stray cats and even fewer that are spayed or neutered.

How to Help the Growing Cat Population

Now, more than ever, the shelter needs families to adopt kittens. So, if you or someone you know has considered adding an animal to the family, consider a cute, little kitten from a local shelter.

Moby Kit welcomes adopting kittens in pairs, as cats are social animals that do best with another friend.

Also, if you have kittens, getting them spayed or neutered needs to be a top priority.

To learn more on how you can help support, foster, or adopt, check out Moby Kit Rescue online.

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