Pet of the Week: KITTENS! [PHOTOS]

I-92 proudly supports the Humane Society of Elmore County and their effort to find forever homes for loving pets. In the spotlight as our Pet of the Week, kittens!

The shelter shares with us, “We are well into ‘kitten season’ and have oodles of gorgeous kittens looking for homes. Tabby kittens, black kittens, calico kittens, orange kittens, gray and white kittens, you name it, we likely have at least one. As the ones ready now for adoption leave us there are many more waiting to take their space so no better time then now to add a cute little bundle of love to your family.”

Humane Society of Elmore County adoption fees are $100 for dogs and $50 for cats under one-year-old; cats over one-year-old can be adopted by approved adopters for a fee of their choosing. This adoption fee completely covers the mandatory spay or neuter, basic immunizations, de-worming, microchip, heartworm check for dogs, rabies vaccination if old enough, free health exam with your participating veterinarian.

To meet all the great pets visit the shelter located at 255 Central Plank Road in Wetumpka, AL. You may want to visit the official website, elmorehumane.org for more information or call (334)567-3377.

Hours open for adoptions:
Monday–Friday 10AM-5PM
Saturday 9AM-4PM

More from the Humane Society of Elmore County:

For whatever reason 2019 is a bit of an odd year so far where kitten intake is concerned. We took in an unusual number of kittens in January and then what shelters call “kitten season” started later in May meaning we are now into high kitten intake and being simply inundated with kittens. Orphaned kittens, single kittens, multiple litters of kittens, momma cats with kittens, just kittens and more kittens every day.

From 1 January – 9 June we have taken in total of 790 cats of which 516 are under 6 months old. To better paint the picture of what we deal with in regard to ‘kitten season’ take a look at these intake numbers this year just for cats (and ‘kitten’ is defined as under six months old):

Month    Kittens Cats   Total
January   75       53      128
February 25       32       57
March     31       46       77
April        83       53      136
May        228     74       302
Jun (1-9) 74      16       90
Total       516    274     790

As kitten season is generally about three months long, we know we are likely going to continue to be inundated with kittens through the end of July. Another sad fact is that for every kitten surrendered to our shelter there are another three, four or more kittens out in the community looking for homes. Just a quick gander at Social Media, signs in yards, free kittens in parking lots, Vet Clinics, friends and acquaintances advertising kittens tells you that there are simply more kittens looking for homes right now than there are takers.

While our Shelter kittens are all spayed or neutered prior to leaving us when adopted, far too many of the hundreds of kittens being given away in the community will not be spayed/neutered in time to prevent their ‘oops’ litter and the vicious cycle of kittens with nowhere to go will only continue. The staff at the Alabama Animal Alliance Spay/Neuter clinic can also attest to how many pregnant 4-5 month old kittens they see which means delaying that appointment with you’re your Vet is a recipe for yet another unnecessary litter.

So, yes, of course we encourage you to go to a local Shelter for a new kitten but if you do get a free kitten, please take it to your Veterinarian immediately to get checked out and get its vaccinations started. Please also make (and keep) that appointment for the kitten’s spay or neuter for as soon as your Veterinarian will do the surgery so you don’t end up with a litter in need of a home in the fall. For those who get a male kitten – it takes two to tango, so boys need to be neutered as well!

And please do come to our Shelter Mon-Fri 10-5 & Sat 9-4 as our $50 adoption fee means your kitten will have had basic immunizations and de-wormings, will be spayed or neutered, microchipped and so much more. We can pretty well say that adopting a kitten from a shelter will be the most economical way to give one a good home and make sure your new kitten does not contribute to a very real problem of pet overpopulation.

And for those wondering – oh yes we have been taking in puppies, just that they come all twelve months of the year. So far this year we have taken in 447 puppies & 529 adults for a total of 977. Getting that spay/neuter appointment for your new puppy is just as vital – please do your part to prevent our very real pet overpopulation crisis. Like kittens all of our dogs & puppies are also spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped – all for an adoption fee of $100.

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