It’s kitten season: Feral cats are on the rise

Community volunteers, local nonprofits work to spay, neuter, and release cats

Kitten season — typically lasting between April and October — refers to the period when female cats are often giving birth to litters. The Animal Rescue Coalition of Mecosta County currently has 20 cats on the waiting list.(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

MECOSTA COUNTY — With summer well underway, Mecosta County is trying to get its cat population under control. Feral cats are at a high rate because it’s the middle of kitten season.

Kitten season — typically lasting between April and October — refers to the period when female cats are often giving birth to litters.

Sherri Pennington is the shelter manager at Animal Rescue Coalition (ARC) of Mecosta County.

“We get about 20 calls a week about found cats. Numbers are always increasing in the summer because it’s kitten season,” Pennington said. “Currently, ARC has 20 cats on the waiting list.

We’re very small. We can only have so many by law, and we’re ran by mostly volunteers,” she added.

Pennington said that, in the summer, it is often harder to get volunteers because Ferris State University students are away.

“We get a lot of volunteers from Ferris because they can’t have animals in the dorms, so they help out,” Pennington said. “But in the summer months, it’s town people who help. We do OK, but it’s staffed a lot better when students are here.”

Although ARC doesn’t take in feral cats, they work with Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) of Mecosta County in efforts to help address the cat populations.

“TNR works with feral cats only. So, if there is a colony of cats at someone’s residence, they (TNR) will go to their home, talk to the owners, and if the owners are willing to pay the fee to trap them, TNR will get them fixed and bring them back to release the cats,” Pennington said.

TNR is a program in which outdoor cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped, and returned to the location where they were found. Colony caretakers supply food, water, and shelter, as necessary.

Pennington said TNR is the most humane and effective method for stabilizing and eventually reducing outdoor cat populations.

“They do it every summer, they assess the sight of where the cats are. The owner has to sign paperwork that agrees to them taking care of the animals,” Pennington said.

For more information about Animal Rescue Coalition (ARC) of Mecosta County or to volunteer call 231–796–2683 or visit arcofmecostacounty.com.