The boom of kittens born in spring has left a lot of animals homeless this summer.
As first reported by Coryn Julien in the blog The Arlington Connection, summer is a tough time to find homes for kittens and cats. Because of spring’s increase in births, there are too few adopters to take in all of the kittens and cats in shelters.
The SPCA of Northern Virginia has noticed the cat problem as well. The organization’s website lists an urgent need for foster homes for cats and kittens. It says while foster homes are always needed, it “is especially critical for cats during kitten season.”
Right now the Animal Welfare League of Arlington is focusing on adult cats who don’t get adopted because so many people are opting for the newborn kittens during the summer. To help alleviate the problem, the AWLA is offering free adoption of any cat at least two years old during the month of July.
In order to cut down on future cat population booms that lead to homeless animals, the AWLA also recommends spaying and neutering pets.
Related Posts
- Fire Truck Kitten Ready for Adoption December 6, 2011
- Firefighters Rescue Kitten November 1, 2011
- ‘Cat Crisis’ at AWLA Prompts Free Adoption Offer December 8, 2010
- Pet Adoption Van Goes AWOL With Dogs, Cats Inside August 2, 2010
Awe. Kittens!
Great picture, Katie.
I think there would be a lot more adoptions if society didn’t literally try to shame people for having a cat, especially older women and men of any age.
I’ve had women tell me they won’t date me becauces I own a cat, not because she’s allergic, but because she doesn’t find it to be a “manly” thing. Wouldn’t want to be someone as stupid and shallow as that anyways, but apparently it’s not a rare belief.
What if the cat is a fully grown Siberian tiger?
Not as manly as a mini-giraffe on a treadmill.
I AM EPIC WIN!
http://www.petitelapgiraffe.com/
She made the right call. Kittens are cute but they become cats.
Eh, you’re better off without that whore.
Agreed, there is an odd negative attitude about cats in our culture. When people find out I have a cat, their first question is “why don’t you have a dog?” which is a strange response.
If you have three cats not evening being an engineer will save you. But you get practice not having any attention paid to you.
Steve – if a woman makes that kind of remark to you, YOU don’t want to date (or marry) her. Says a whole lot about her, not you. Run.
+10, Lauren!
She’s right. Who wants to date a guy who lives with an animal that is mostly independent when they can date a guy who has to run home every day at 5 pm to stand outside while their bichon frise takes a dump that they have to pick up in their little bag while it’s wet? That’s a macho man.
Hahaha, good point, Samson.
I find men who like cats more attractive than guys who don’t like them. It’s a sign that they’re comfortable with who they are.
Maybe it’s because I’m a cat-lover, but I always think that guys who don’t like cats either haven’t spent enough time around them or they’ve been socialized into saying they don’t like them because of some silly macho stereotype.
I love cats, and cats seem to love me. I miss all my ex-girlfriend’s cats much more than I miss them because I do not have any cats myself. I even had one tell me that her cat was depressed for 6 months after we broke up. I think she was playing games though.
She could’ve been serious. Cats do get attached to people that they regard as “theirs.” One of our cats will wait by the door when she knows it’s about time for my boyfriend to get off of work. It’s the highlight of her whole day! When we go away on vacation she gets noticeably upset.
Not a cat fan myself. Guess I’m pretty messed up! …or is that just a preference… hmm… Don’t much care for martini’s either. I’d better see a shrink!
I always assumed dudes that owned cats only dated other dudes.
does that mean that dudes who own dogs only date chicks?
cats are great. so is dating dudes. but zero correlation.
That would be the sign to get up from the dinner table, throw down a couple of 20′s, and walk away.
i had a girl who was crazy over me and my material possessions. she practically threw herself at me. until i told her i had a cat. i was treated as if i were a leper. and she needed a green card too.
I think I heard this story before
Since I take all of my cues on life from movies I know that women always hate a guy’s slacker friends. When you come home and say, “So, that date went well.” A cat’s going to give you a look of “Don’t care. I slept on the couch all day. Going to do some nip now and bat around that feathered ball for a few hours.”
Theiir loss: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7165164/Cat-owners-more-educated-than-dog-owners.html
Cat people are smarter than dog people for the win.
but what about people like myself and my husband who grew up and now have both cats and dogs. We also both grew up with assorted other pets- the rabbit who ate cheese, a squirrel, a bat (that’s hubby, not me!), birds, hamsters, chicks, et all??
Guess we were destined to be married with that kind of background! We are both great fun and quite tolerant of issues with animals.
who cares what others think.
Steve,
They may have some kind of support group for that king of thing?
Unless you can get them to use the toilet (which is actually possible), cats are disgusting. Nothing like walking into someone’s house and smelling the mixture of cat litter and dump. The owners don’t even realize how bad it smells. Plus they dump in a box and then track that fecal matter (from previous dumps) all over re house. You people are gross.
Not if you clean it at least every day. Cats are very clean and clean themselves constantly.
Dogs eat their own feces.
Then lick your face.
Dog feces is like popcorn where I grew up.
Did you grow up in Courthouse? Because there is dog poop laying around on the sidewalks and grass like it was popcorn.
I agree both dogs and cats are disgusting when you think about what they track in your home and licking your face etc. Basically it comes down to people not caring and wanting unconditional love over a sanitary home and tongue. Gross.
I didn’t want “unconditional love” when I got my cats, I got them because they needed a good home and I can provide them with a good life.
Dog = I need unconditional love. Cat = I’d like a roomate.
It’s more like you are the tenant and the cat is the landlord when you have a cat. It’s their place.
“what they track in your home” … I assume this means you take your shoes off before walking in your home?
Actually yes I do, I take them off as soon as I walk in.
Overattention to cleanliness just leads to allergies, autoimmune diseases, and leukemia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis
Isn’t there also a possible link between cat feces and asthma? Studies have suggested children below a certain age shouldn’t live with a cat.
No, you are thinking of cat dandruff.
There was something about the airborne poop in there from what I recall. Maybe it was some other debilitation..
I know so many people who are much dirtier than my dog. It all is about care, attention, and grooming of both species.
“It all is about care, attention, and grooming of both species.”
+10, O.B.
cats are not disgusting. They are very clean and all you need do is clean up after them! Any creature, including humans, can be dirty is nobody cleans up after them!
That was so incredibly un-called for. :-/
I know not everyone has the same tastes or thinks the same way, but my apartment is incredibly clean as I pick up and sweep/wetswiffer almost daily. I scoop the litter box in my place first thing the morning and after work, or if I notice my cat use the box while I’m nearby. Just like when a dog uses the bathroom, you scoop, and throw away… then there is no lingering odor of any kind (or remaining matter from previous days for them to carry through the house). Now admittedly, not everyone is THAT compulsive in cleaning, but I actually enjoy it and I know that my cat has a healthy clean home and I know my home in healthy and clean… more so than a good majority of people I know with or without any animals.
I get your point… I just wish you had stated your opinion in a different way. I’m not gross, I’m not dirty, I’m not unhappy. I have a healthy pet who I found in a litter on the side of a road. I made sure they all found happy homes and my cat’s lived to be 16 years old and still leaps like a kitten. I can go away for a weekend and not spend hundreds on boarding. I can find apartments in my price range because I don’t need a dog-friendly place. I’ve had animals my whole life and none use a toilet or are “clean” 100% to our assumed standards without some human help. So chill out.
PS- Watch people order fast food, pay with dirty used cash, and eat with their hands without stepping into the bathroom to wash their hands. Everyone’s got germs and bad habits.
People’s keyboards and phones are disgusting–covered in fecal matter.
Never eat the nuts etc sitting on the bar! They’ve done tests and there is tons of nasty matter in there because of people who don’t wash their hands.
You’ve never seen the Mythbusters tooth brush in the bathroom show, have you?
Assume when you shake hands with a man, you are also shaking hands with their penis.
Don’t get AllenB excited
why is an article meant to save them published 5 days before month end promoting the “free adoptions”? Earlier in the month would have been more helpful..no?
They have mentioned this at least twice this month.
Ya sure about that?
I knew about it from AWLA but hadn’t seen the July free cats announcement mentioned here.
http://www.arlnow.com/2011/06/01/morning-notes-240/
Back to the litter box, Tabby.
Okay I stand corrected by regarding a previous mention of “Free cats in June” as valid in July.
So will there be free cats in August now too? What about punch and pie?
Perhaps Barbara Favola will come out and endorse no copay birth-control for kittens to solve this problem.
Rabbit Boom + Kitten Boom. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to solve this problem. Come on people — this isn’t the debt ceiling.
My thoughts exactly. At least these homeless felines won’t need to go hungry.
But seriously, people, spay/neuter your effing pets!
Does the shelter neuter or spade ALL animals that come into its facility for care?
They wouldn’t if the kitten is very very young. you need to wait several months before they can, and if they get adopted before then, they won’t be, but I would think all of them have contractual obligations where the adopter has to get the kitten spayed or neutered. That’s been my experience.
NOT several months. That’s a myth. Not tiny either, but several weeks old is OK. Mine was done then and he’s a very healthy boy.
how about the people who adopt the pets?
Mmmm great with bbq sauce.
Yeah, this country is so behind on cat related cuisine. Kittens are like veal.
Can a dog do this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfozbcrMpGs
Maybe you could have put a photo of a cute adult cat, since that is the focus of the adoption push. Both of my cats were adopted as adults, and I would not do it any other way.
Probably a video would work wonders. My cats are both adults now and they are the friendliest cats I’ve ever seen. My friends want to steal my cats they like them so much, and they’re still adoreable. In fact my friendliest cat is cuter as an adult than when he was a kitten. he was pretty goofy looking then.
i hope the new director has made adoptions a more reasonable process. the multiple adoptions I have from Arlington Shelter are ONLY BECAUSE I was persitent and wanted the cat.
My favorite was when a cat I wanted was on quarantine for five more days. They asked if I was ready to take the cat home. I said no. They said I couldn’t have it. I pointed out that I wasn’t ready because it was on quarantine and I AND the cat would be ready on Tuesday. They asked why would I feel different on Tuesday than today. It was a total circle jerk.
Just tell them you had another cat and could not possibly quarrantine the cat at home.
we adopted a 3 month old kitten from the Arlington shelter and she picked up some sort of illness while there. They kept her a little longer and then she got her “operation” and we brought her home. They definitely will spade/neuter at the shelter.
The problem I see is that many people WANT their pets to have babies so they intentionally don’t operate. Of course, the resulting babies end up in shelters or the streets, but lots of people think it’s fun to have babies in the house. Then they become demanding and they grow up and out they go. It’s a matter of changing people’s minds about having babies for the fun of it.
It’s SPAY or Neuter.
A spade is tool or something on a card.
Just sayin’…..
I think a lot of people hear it in the tense, “have you pets spayed and neutered”, and when they hear it fast and often the spelling is lost. You rarely see the word in writing. (You’re totally right, I’m just saying why people often mixed it up.)
I still can’t understand why someone doesn’t like cats. They are so cool. It’s really neat having a predator roaming your home.Plus say goodbye to any bugs if you ever had them indoors.
Cats shed a lot of hair. I would prefer a dog
Ha ha. Better pick your dog carefully…..
That’s true. I have allergies so I sont have neither but cats present a bigger problem for me
Get a Winix air filter then.
To the people who whine about why AWLA doesn’t enforce the leash law, even though they hold a contract from Arlington County to conduct leash law enforcement:
THIS is why you DON’T ENFORCE the leash law!!!
You have a need: save dying kittens.
You have a solution: expedite adoptions.
You have funding for your solution: Citizen donations plus Arlington County funding.
That is, UNLESS YOU OFFEND your donors by citing them for running dogs off-leash on the W&OD, in Bluemont Park, and in Westover!!!
THAT is why you don’t enforce the leash law, contract or no contract. Why give someone a citation for $25 or $50 or whatever, when they will turn around and cancel their $100 or $500 or $1,000 donation to the organization!? Why give a citation when they will tell their dog-loving FRIENDS in 22207 all about the Animal Welfare officer who rung them up because they played Fetch with their dog in the Gulf Branch Nature Center!!???
What kind of competent nonprofit organization takes on actual enforcement that would impact their likely donor pool??? Uh, that would be NO competent organization. So, you know, if you want kittens to, you know, LIVE, then get a clue. Figure out why you need to GET OVER IT when someone runs their dog AS GOD INTENDED in your neighborhood or through your yard or past your stroller on the bike trail. Teach your kid how to avoid offending dogs.
But don’t hold innocent kittens hostage to your leash law mania!!!
oh hai
+ a dozen
LOL! Here’s another one:
Two words: concealed carry
Pull that sucker out when an unleashed dog comes along, owner faints, dog goes to see wtf happened with owner. Works like a charm every time. Even if it didn’t, you could still pistol-whip the clueless owner. Win-win no matter how you slice it.
A couple of notes
According to my HOA (Fairlington Arbor), Arlington County law is very clear; cats must be on leashes when outside. Also cats need collars and tags when outside. So, please be aware of the laws in Arlington County concerning cats being on leashes and wearing collars and tags when outside.
Even if you have a cat-safe enclosure in your backyard for the cats to play and relax in, they STILL need collars and tags . And a cat that is allowed to roam the neighborhood is easy prey for raccoons, dogs, cars, and members of Man-Not-KIND.
If you walk your cat (they will walk YOU) on a leash make sure the cat wears a Harness that they cannot wiggle or back out of. Collars and leashes are not safe — broken necks or strangulation can occur becuz of the collar. However, the harness is safer but still needs ot be watched. and NEVER tether a cat or a dog outside– they can easily wind themselves areound their leash and strangle.
Also be careful where you walk them- an unfriendly dog can attack the cat AND you in a heartbeat.
I used to walk my cat on a harness and leash until she got too big to be managed– when they panic they become all arms and legs and it is very hard to pick them up to control them.
At first you say “they still need collars,” then you say “collars and leashes are not safe.”
Let’s us end all this crap now.
There are no leash, collar, or tag laws in Arlington County for Cats, despite what the jerks over in Fairlington Arbor say. Stop dancing around the issue; Cats climb trees, it is in their nature, get over it.