Running out of options: Shelters and rescue groups are bursting with felines

Anne Constable | The New Mexican

12/5/2007 -

Olivia, a black-and-white domestic short hair with half a mustache and half a goatee peered curiously out of her cage at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter on Tuesday while volunteers tickled and stroked other tenants of the cheery cattery.

Olivia is one of 115 cats living at the shelter. After an all-out cat adoption drive this fall, the facility once again is overflowing with felines.

The shelter and others in the state are facing a full-blown cat crisis.

"It used to be you couldn't find a kitten around Christmas time," said shelter director Duane Adams as he surveyed the litters tumbling around in their cages. "We don't want to put them to sleep."

The number of cats coming into the Santa Fe shelter grew from 1,715 in the first 11 months of 2006 to 2,217 this year, a 30 percent increase. Those tallies include a small number eventually returned to their owners and some that were euthanized at the request of owners or because of age and health issues.

All over Northern New Mexico, the story is the same.

According to the Companion Animal Alliance of Northern New Mexico, a 12-agency consortium of animal welfare groups serving Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties, 3,400 cats have been brought to shelters this year, a 26 percent increase from 2006. That number does not include pets housed by rescue organizations. Cats now account for one in three animals at shelters, compared with one in four a year ago.

Bridget Lindquist, director of the Española Valley Humane Society, said four puppies at a recent "adoptathon" in Santa Fe were snatched up, but none of the eight cats found homes. Her shelter, which has 108 cats, recruited a few dozen foster parents for cats this year after sending out four or five letters pleading for help.

But the flow into the shelter is exceeding the demand. And while adoption rates are holding up, she said, "That's not good enough."

Bobbi Heller, director of Felines & Friends, said her organization had 50 to 60 cats at this time last year. Today, 106 are listed on its Web site, but the real number is closer to 120 even though her group has dropped its fee from $100 to $75.

Felines & Friends has stopped accepting cats from their owners. "We are telling people who want to relinquish that we will put their pets on our Web site, but there is no way we can take them in," Heller said.

In normal years, the Santa Fe Animal Shelter sends excess cats and kittens to larger facilities in the region. But they're full, too.

Lisa Gipe, the shelter's transfer coordinator, said when she called last week seeking temporary homes, the facilities in Denver and Boulder, Colo., told her they were at capacity, the Pike's Peak Humane Society in Colorado never responded to her message, the shelter in Tucson, Ariz., had so many cats, it was running a two-for-one offer, and the Hermitage, a no-kill, no-cage shelter in Arizona, said it was not accepting calls.

Lindquist said her organization, which also relies heavily on partnerships with other agencies in New Mexico and Colorado, is hearing the same story: Albuquerque is full and Colorado is telling her it is "maxed out with cats."

So what gives?

No one is quite sure. One theory is La Niña and global warming are extending the breeding season. Normally, cats stop reproducing when the weather gets cold. But new litters of kittens are arriving at area shelters daily.

Heller said the economy could be contributing to the problem. People who already have a couple of pets might figure "they can't afford an extra one in this economic climate," she said.

But it might just be the overwhelming multiplication of the numbers.

Animal welfare groups in the state are working hard to make a dent in the pet population by making spaying and neutering cheaper and more convenient. But "there are tens of thousands of unaltered (dogs and cats) in Northern New Mexico," said Bill Hutchison, the communications manager for the Santa Fe Animal Shelter.

The Humane Society of the United States estimates a pair of breeding cats and their offspring can produce more than 400,000 cats in seven years.

"We are a small market. There are more animals in need than homes for them. There's a point in time where the market just gets saturated. I have a funny feeling that we are reaching that point." Heller suggested.

Spaying and neutering is a first-line defense for animal welfare organizations. The Santa Fe Animal Shelter expects to sterilize about 6,000 animals this year. The number, for the first time, is more than the number of animals adopted.

While these efforts have had an impact, they're not enough. And, said Hutchison, "this is the first time I've seen fellow animal welfare organizations really freaked out."

This month, they're banding together in a monthlong adoption drive to encourage New Mexicans to add a "fur-child" to their families during the holiday season.

But behind the scenes, the organizations are also contemplating the E word. While the Santa Fe shelter says it has not had to euthanize healthy, adoptable animals, "we're on the outskirts of that unpleasant town now," Hutchison said.

And around the country, euthanasia is widespread, although actual numbers are scarce because many shelters don't keep good records.

The most recent study is 10 years old and includes statistics from only 1,000 shelters. The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy reported in 1997 that 64 percent of animals that entered shelters were euthanized, often because of overcrowding. Based on those numbers, the council estimated 9.6 million animals are euthanized annually in the United States.
Felines & Friends' Heller said she thought the animal welfare community should talk more openly about its dwindling number of choices.

Open-door facilities should not be criticized when animals don't get adopted, she said. "It's not their fault. New Mexico is a large area. It's not like there's gobs of money."

And, Heller added, "at some point, shelters are going to be faced with some difficult decisions."

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.


BY THE NUMBERS

Santa Fe Animal Shelter statistics:

• 115 Cats currently at shelter
• 2,217 Cats brought to shelter this year
• 40 Average number of cats adopted per week
• 57 Cats returned to owners this year
• 19 Cats euthanized this year
• 696 Cats surrendered by owners this year

IF YOU GO

• What: Adoption Day and holiday celebration
• When: noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 29
• Where: Santa Fe Place
• Who: Companion Animal Alliance of Northern New Mexico

Contacts

• Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society: 983-4309
• Española Valley Humane Society: 505-753-8662
• Felines & Friends: 505-316-2281

Cat adoption fees

• Santa Fe Animal Shelter: $20, includes neutering, vaccinations, shots
• Española Valley Humane Society: $60, includes neutering, vet examination and identification tag and collar; currently there is a two-for-one offer, two cats for $60
• Felines & Friends: $75, includes sterilization, tests, shots, deworming and microchip implantation