Cat season is here
News 11's reporter Melissa Zaremba spoke with the Humane Society of Yuma about what it's doing to keep this booming number of cats under control
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY-TV) - It's cat season which means you may see more kittens than usual roaming our area.
But it’s not unusual for this time of year.
“When it starts to warm up they start reproducing and that’s when most of the kittens come out especially here in Yuma we get pretty long and warm seasons they reproduce and have about three to four liters a year and they consist of one to eight kittens in that litter,” Community Cat Coordinator Rafael Garcia.
Sometimes it can be difficult to keep up.
“Space is the main issue. Once we get a mom with the kittens we instantly have to give them to kennels just cause we have to the water away from the kittens so they don’t go in the water and drown so that takes a lot of space,” said Garcia.
In order to keep cat season under control, it’s recommended to get them fixed.
The Humane Society of Yuma (HSOY) has a program to help prevent this increasing number of cats.
“The program is just to get those cats fixed we get them fixed, we get them vaccinated for rabies feline distemper and we tip their left ear so if you ever see a cat with tipped left ear it’s been through this program,” said Garcia.
But not every cat or set of kittens needs to be rescued.
“You will be able to tell when that kitten is abandoned it would be cold, it would be dirty, it be crying and skinny when it gets to that situation than we would recommend bringing them in, but if you see a cat fat, clean and super especially if they are standing very still the mother has been around and feeding them recently so we recommend leaving those kittens with the mom,” said Garcia.
HSOY is a non-profit organization so they are always accepting donations and looking for volunteers to help.
There are still plenty of animals who are waiting to be adopted or you can even foster a pet.
Make sure to visit The Humane Society of Yuma for additional information.
