By CHRISTINE FERGUSON
Kitten Season. It's the time of year when cats give birth, flooding animal shelters across the nation with homeless litters. Kitten season is really three seasons in one, starting with spring, peaking in late spring or early summer, and ending in fall. We are seeing kittens earlier and earlier each year at the Animal Shelter of Wood River Valley.
Why does kitten season occur? The warm weather of spring coincides with female cats' heat cycles. When female cats go into heat, male cats come running from near and far. Cats' reproductive hormones are very powerful. And no matter where the cats are, they don't have far to go.
In every community, there is an over-abundance of unsterilized cats both owned and unowned. A frenzy of mating takes place each year.
The easiest way to help reduce the overwhelming numbers of unwanted cats is to spay and neuter your own cat and encourage others to do the same. Even if your cat only goes outside occasionally, it allows plenty of time for mating. Unaltered cats are driven by their hormones and tend to sneak outdoors primarily in search of a mate. Mating just once can start a domino effect that can result in dozens, even hundreds or thousands of unwanted animals.
An average fertile cat can produce three litters in one year, each with an average of four to six littermates. In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can theoretically produce 420,000 cats.
Kitten season presents challenges for shelter staff. It becomes more difficult to place adult cats. Even when people come in with the intent to adopt an adult, cute kittens turn their heads and the adult cats often passed by. As we reach capacity, the close quarters can cause the cats additional stress, and they begin to spread germs and get sick.
You can help care for the homeless cats in your area. Work with the shelter to help control your neighborhood's feral and stray cat populations. Donate supplies, money or your time. Check with a local vet or the shelter for information regarding spay-neuter clinics. Keep your cat safe indoors and learn how to provide safe outdoor time.
