Illinois Animal Shelters in Crisis During Peak Kitten Season

It's peak kitten season in Illinois, but what does that mean for those of us that don't work in animal care?

It means that the highest number of kittens are born during the months of May and June, and because of it our local animal shelters are overrun with stray kittens desperate for help.

According to WIFR:

Right now, Winnebago County Animal Services has around 100 kittens, with some only two weeks old. Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary has double that number of kittens in its care.

Obviously, kitten adopters and fosters are desperately needed right now at animal shelters all over Northern Illinois, but the real issue is how to stop this problem before it starts.

Curbing Illinois' Kitten Problems

I'm assuming most people know that spaying and neutering pets is the key to maintaining stray animal populations, but we also know doing so isn't cheap.

The majority of Illinois' kitten overload comes from the feral cat population who have no real owners to pay for neutering. Thankfully, Illinois has programs available to help.

Cat Neutering Assistance in Illinois

I know several people who have farms and several barn cats/feral cats that live on them. These cats help keep rodent populations at bay, but most of them are unaltered and like to stray.  New litters of kittens are a common occurrence on family farms, and taking them all to get neutered is often a budget buster, but it doesn't have to be.

Did you know Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary in Rockford offers a "Trap-Neuter-Return" program that only costs $25? I didn't either until today!

Noah's Ark's website says;

Noah’s Ark is happy to provide a spay/ neuter, rabies vaccine, FVRCP vaccine, 30-day flea/tick prevention, an ear tip, and microchip to feral cats and barn cats of our community.

The program is available to any resident of Winnebago or Boone counties, and only requires a $25 copay and that the cat be brought to the shelter in a live trap. For more information on other low cost spay/neuter and vaccine programs available, please click here.

If you are unable to adopt or foster kittens right now but you would still like to help, shelters all across Northern Illinois will gladly accept monetary or physical donations of wet and dry kitten food, cat scratchers, disinfectant wipes and more. (See a supply wishlist here).