Highway Vets staff Bev Holdsworth and Ashley Rice (who are also Coast to Coast Cat Rescue volunteers) and Jenny Adams with some kittens that will soon be ready for adoption. Photo / Jenny Ling
Highway Vets staff Bev Holdsworth and Ashley Rice (who are also Coast to Coast Cat Rescue volunteers) and Jenny Adams with some kittens that will soon be ready for adoption. Photo / Jenny Ling
Northland pet owners not getting their animals desexed and warmer-than-average temperatures are behind an influx of kittens swamping animal welfare and rescue centres.
Coast to Coast Cat Rescue and SPCA centres have noticed a spike in kitten numbers this year, which has prompted the SPCA to offer half-price adoptions across the country in a bid to reduce its overflowing shelters.
Kitten season, which would usually be nearing its end by May, showed no sign of slowing down, because of warmer weather conditions, SPCA interim chief executive Robyn Kiddle said.
“Centre managers across the country are stating they’re still getting newborns and pregnant cats arriving well into the cooler months, when it is usually expected to tail off.
“Other factors contributing to the influx include the compounding cost of living, lack of desexing and the impact of extreme weather events.”
Coast to Coast Cat Rescue trust chairwoman Sam Stewart said she has 150 cats and kittens being fostered by a team of volunteers. Forty-nine were adopted in May, but it was a never-ending battle, she said.
“Normally we would have been slowing down at this time, but it hasn’t stopped for us, it’s still going.”
Stewart said she spent hours the other night trying to catch a bunch of kittens dumped in Karetu near Kawakawa after being alerted by a school bus driver.
She caught four, “but possibly missed some”, she said.
Stewart urges people to “reach out to a rescue”, if they need help getting their animals desexed or vaccinated.
“Obviously dumping or drowning the kittens is not going to stop mum getting pregnant. The only thing that will do that is getting her desexed.
“If they don’t, it’s cruel, they become feral, and they’re eating our wildlife. It’s not cool.”
Stewart said many Northland residents “still have a problem” with desexing, even though it’s heavily subsidised.
SPCA offers discounts as part of its Snip ‘n’ Chip campaign which means Northland residents pay just $10, and the Bay of Islands Animal Rescue group and Donna Dolittle’s Animal Rescue in Kaitāia also help with desexing.
The Far North District Council has held events encouraging owners to get their animals neutered and spayed for free.
Kitten season, which would usually be nearing its end by May, shows no sign of slowing down, according to rescue groups. Photo / Supplied
Stewart said Coast to Coast Cat Rescue recently started a collaboration with the SPCA and Bay of Islands Vets to fund desexing and vaccinations for 300 cats and kittens in the Bay of Islands community.
She hopes this will start “‘imminently”.
“We shouldn’t be in this situation with the amount of free subsidies and desexing opportunities we have in Northland.”
The SPCA had 20 per cent more animals in their care than at the same time last year, and centres were feeling “overwhelmed by the numbers needing their help”, Kiddle said.
In the past six months, almost 11,000 kittens came into SPCA’s care nationwide, about 1000 more than the same time last year.
In Northland, 816 kittens were dropped at its Kaitāia, Kerikeri and Whangārei shelters, slightly more than the 778 kittens that came through during the same period last year.
Kiddle said the need for animal care was outweighing the demand for adoptions.
“In April, we had 2585 incoming animals and only 1823 adoptions, making it incredibly difficult for our centres to cope.
“The reality is, we need to free up space as the need out there is just so great.
“We’re seeing more and more people cry out for help as they struggle to afford their pets and the necessary care that comes with them, and one of the first things to drop off the priority list for those in financial difficulty is desexing.
“When this happens, the problem escalates quickly, and those unwanted litters suffer the consequences.”
Stewart and her volunteers took 30 kittens to the Packhouse Market in Kerikeri last Saturday and managed to rehome seven.
The team will attend this Saturday’s market to try and rehome more.
Check out Coast to Coast Cat Rescue on Facebook or the SPCA desexing.spca.nz/#locations if you need help getting your animal desexed.
