We did it! We have made it through another cold, rainy Seattle Winter and are transitioning into a much welcomed Seattle Spring! Spring signifies the official start of "kitten season."
While this seems like it might be a good problem to have, "kitten season" brings overpopulated shelters and often hungry kittens.
"Kitten season" is the term used by humane societies to describe the time of year when cats begin to have their kittens. It's during this time that shelters become overloaded with the amount of pregnant cats and kittens in their care. This is also the time when you begin to see many different shelters asking for things kittens may need like food, formula and blankets.
Cats are able to get pregnant at just 4 months old and they can have 2-3 litters a year! If each litter averages 3-5 babies, and the average lifespan of a cat is 13-17 years, one cat can have between 78-255 babies in her lifetime. If her babies have babies then we quickly multiply things even faster.
It's estimated there are around 3.2 million cats in shelters across the United States. We can help reduce this number drastically by spaying or neutering our cats. Help spread the word about the importance of this issue by educating your friends and family. You can find more information here.
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Picture Credit: @kat_males (Instagram)
