Its kitten season and Central New York shelters are filling up as more and more people are finding homeless cats in their neighborhoods-
Courtney Armbruster, President of CNY Cat Coalition, says that’s because the warmer weather means its mating season.
“There’s gonna be an explosion of kittens,” Courtney says.
As cats who are not spayed and neutered leave their owners homes to enjoy the weather, they mate and give birth to kittens. CNY Cat Coalition works to help find those kittens families.
Courtney says when the kittens are born she gets a lot of calls asking what to do. Reaching out is a good first step.
“We spread the word about kittens that are in need to our foster homes and see if anyone is able to take them,” Courtney says of when she learns of more homeless pets.
When they aren’t at foster homes, the kittens are taken to local adoption centers where people can come in to play with them and fill out adoption applications. If the pets aren’t adopted within three weeks of their arrival at the adoption centers, they go back to foster homes.
For those hesitant about making the commitment of adopting, fostering is also an option
“You to house the cats, you have them on a daily basis,” Courtney says. “You have the cats, you feed them you love them, you get them ready to be adopted.”
And whether you are adopting, fostering or just looking to get the homeless kittens off the street, Courtney says everyone needs to understand the important if spaying and neutering their pets.
“It’s the only was to fix the huge problem we have here in CNY of unwanted and homeless animals ,” Courtney says.
Since their founding in 2003, CNY Cat Coalition has worked hard to do just that. According to Courtney, they have helped spay and neuter more than 22,000 animals during that time and last year alone they helped 650 homeless cats in the area get adopted.
“We’re proud to make a huge difference in the community here,” Courtney says.
