Jacksonville Humane Society needs help ending 'kitten crisis'

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Humane Society is calling on the community to help reduce kitten births in Jacksonville.

The shelter says the city is still dealing with a kitten crisis as they continue to have thousands of kittens brought in.

To reduce the number of kittens, the shelter has started working with the non-profit, Alley Cat Allies, to provide free spay and neuter surgery once a month with a goal of fixing 100 community cats in one day. It has also partnered up with local volunteer veterinarians to support foster parents.

At the Jacksonville Humane Society, there have been nearly 3,000 kittens taken in by the shelter so far this year. Jacksonville Humane Society’s CEO, Denise Deisler, said the steady increase in the intake of kittens in the last few years has led to what they call ‘a kitten crisis.’
 
“As cute as they are, that’s a lot of kittens and it requires a great deal of care,” CEO Denise Deisler said. “Kitten crisis for us means this never ending flow, this unpredictable flow of underage kittens who often are neonatal that need round-the-clock care, which is very labor intensive and not something that we staff alone can take care of and so the crisis is way beyond our means.” 

Prevention is a big piece of the puzzle, according to Deisler. She’s also calling on people in the community to do their part to get any roaming or community cats fixed. 
 
 “The single best way to deal with the kitten crisis is to alter the free roaming and community cats who are outdoors so that they’re not reproducing,” Deisler added.
 
The monthly spay and neuter service is called ‘Feline Frenzy.’ The next event will be held at the humane society on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 7 a.m. 

Visit the Jacksonville Humane Society website for details and more information.


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