POULSBO, Wash. — If you were considering adding a cat or kitten to your home, now may be a good time to do it.
The Kitsap Humane Society announced that it is “overloaded” with the amount of cats of felines in the shelter.
There are currently over 200 cats and kittens, which is over twice as much as the capacity, according to Mike Bush, the director of communications.
It’s urgent. Kitsap Humane Society now has 260 cats as of the afternoon of June 4, which is over two times of the capacity the local animal shelter has in its kennel spaces for cats. The dog kennels, with a capacity of 60 dogs, are also full, the shelter said.
“We are overloaded on both sides. It’s crazy right now. So we’re just absolutely starving for foster families to take in some of these kittens and some of the bigger dogs," Bush said.
The shelter has seen surges like this before, but not to this extent.
“We have a very dedicated staff where, you know, I’ve taken animals to come home and live with me for a couple of weeks because they’re scared of the kennels or for whatever reason. But right now, I think every one of our veterinary staff and our vet techs, every one of them, is taking kittens home. Several people from our development team and our events team are taking kittens home. One of the women I work with has three right now. So yeah, it’s just overwhelming, but, you know, we’re getting through it," he said.
Bush said the agency is looking for fosters to help clear some of the shelter space.
Learn about fostering and adopting here.
However, for those who are unable to foster or adopt, Bush said the organization is always looking for volunteers.
“You know, we have one woman who comes in a couple of days a week, and all she does is laundry. She just loves to do laundry. We have another guy who I think spends more time here walking dogs than I do,” Bush said.
Learn about volunteering here.
You can also donate on their website, if you’re able.
“And, also, you can go on our website and there’s an opportunity to donate. We also have a wish list on Amazon so people can click on an item. Any kind of donations of food and blankets and things like that are always welcome.”
You can learn more about donating here.
The shelter also recently opened up a clinic that offers low-cost veterinary services, vaccinations, emergency procedures and spaying and neutering.
They also host several events a year to fundraise and raise awareness about the animals in their care, with the most recent event being a 5k this Saturday in downtown Poulsbo.
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