Kitten season: Vet offices, animal rescue sites brace for deluge of cats

Animal rescue groups are bracing for thousands in costs to care for a deluge of cute, but expensive, charges.

Greensburg-based Wayward Whiskers Animal Rescue expects to spend between $50,000 and $70,000 solely for what is known as kitten season. The expense is about 40% of its annual budget, president and founder Kate Jones said. That figure includes supplies such as food and litter, as well as veterinary care, which can range from $300 to $600 per kitten.

The group already is caring for about 30 kittens under 6 months old, and volunteers are bracing for more, Jones said.

“We just see this huge bombardment this time of year,” she said.

Kitten season can increase the burden on animal shelters and rescues, nonprofit groups run mostly by volunteers, as they can be flooded with homeless litters or a depleted mother cat during the height of breeding.

Those young felines often require extra medical care while exponentially increasing the amount of mouths to feed. Rescue groups need foster homes for kittens as they can’t be in contact with older cats until they’re vaccinated.

Jen Johnson has noticed kitten season seems to be bleeding into the entire year, when it had typically been spring to fall in the past. Ninth Life Rescue Center in Hunker was caring for 10 sick kittens after about 40 felines were pulled out of a Ligonier Township home last month.

“Kitten season is a disaster,” said Johnson, president of the organization. “I dread it ever year, and it’s getting worse.”

Dr. Becky Morrow, president and medical director at Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue in New Kensington, said it’s not just money and medication — kitten season requires time and sometimes around-the-clock nursing and care. Last year, she saw more than 100 kittens, which have a high rate of mortality.

“Even when you’re doing everything right … there’s going to be high numbers of kittens that don’t make it, and it’s devastating,” Morrow said. “You pour your heart and soul into these little creatures.”

On top of that, rescue groups continue to help adult cats in need, which makes for a difficult balancing act. The young cats can take away homes from adult cats waiting to be adopted. And if a kitten doesn’t find a home by about 6 months of age, its chances of adoption decreases, Johnson said.

Ordinances address cat presence

A clowder of cats in a community can also prompt municipal leaders to take action. In recent years, officials in Oakmont and Plum have enacted ordinances aimed at controlling community cat populations through spay and neuter requirements. Plum’s ordinance also made it illegal to feed stray cats.

When preparing the ordinance, Oakmont Councilwoman Amanda Pagnotta said she scanned a year’s worth of community Facebook groups for posts related to stray cats. She found them to be a frequent occurrence.

“There did seem to be a need for it,” she said.

Export passed a similar ordinance in 2016.

Greensburg sent its code officer out to cite a Jefferson Street resident after neighbors complained in 2021 about a multitude of cats there, according to meeting minutes. City officers take reports of community cats and often call Wayward Whiskers for help to trap the felines, find them a home and get them spayed or neutered, if needed, police Chief Charles Irvin said.

“We get calls for strays all the time,” he said.

Some rescues have found a way to contribute to the solution by holding affordable spay and neuter clinics.

The clinics can be for community cats, as well as pets.

Frankie’s Friends allows walk-ins a few times a week. Morrow said they average 40 felines a day.

“We’re trying to prevent those litters,” she said.

Spay It Forward in Hempfield, near South Greensburg, has clinics scheduled in April. Jones said almost every stray or feral female cat coming in to be spayed recently has been pregnant. Since 2021, they’ve spayed or neutered 9,000 animals, mostly cats.

“We’d much rather help one cat than 35 cats in the future,” she said.

Ninth Life partnered with All Pets Hospital in Greensburg in March and is planning more clinics in the future. Johnson said the group helped neuter 1,000 male cats in 2024. She and Jones agreed the affordable clinics draw people from out of the area.

“I’m doing these every couple months,” Johnson said. “It’s been very beneficial for people.”