By MATT PIKE
It's officially kitten season, meaning the St. Joseph Animal Shelter is currently experiencing an overflow of cats and kittens.
Melanie Barnes with Friends of the Animal Shelter says this week alone 27 kittens were brought into the shelter.
"That puts our total up over 70 cats and kittens, overrun with kittens right now," Barnes says on the KFEQmunnity show. "Representative of kitten season, it's a really important topic because it hits on all kinds of things of both the importance of spaying and neutering, so we don't have overpopulation, down to how you can support the shelter with fostering and/or donating supplies."
Barnes says the shelter takes in all types of kittens, whether it's strays that people find and bring in, or those born they can't keep, but adds they are overrun with all types of kittens
"There are kittens of all ages, activity levels, colors, males, females, anything," Barnes explains. "If you were thinking about getting a kitten now is the time because we have plenty to choose from and it really helps us out free up space down there in the shelter, even if you're just thinking about fostering that would be lovely as well."
Barnes says fostering a cat or kitten helps get the animal outside of the shelter to free up space, but also get the pet used to being in a home and develop a more regular routine without the stress of being in the shelter.
All that foster a pet from the shelter get supplies provided to them through Friends of the Animal Shelter Barnes says. But if you can't foster or adopt a pet, you can also donate supplies to help in fostering efforts.
"There's an Amazon link directly you don't even have to take it down there, but you can buy directly on Amazon, and have it shipped to us," Barnes says. "So, that's a great way to get involved if you don't want to go down there in person or you don't have the abilities to foster or even go down and volunteer, monetary donations are also great but there is an Amazon shopping list that you can purchase supplies and send them directly to us."
You can find more information on kittens to adopt as well as other pets and the Amazon supply list by visiting the St. Joseph Friends of the Animal Shelter Facebook page.
Interview
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.