It's raining cats: Northland SPCA's overrun with clutter of kittens

Whangārei SPCA staff Kirsty Houghton, Corien Munro and Tyler Fox with some of the kittens the centre is caring for. Photo / John Stone

It is a "difficult" time of year for the Whangārei SPCA which is packed to the rafters with kittens.

Peak season means 40 kittens currently call the Whangārei SPCA their home. About another 160 kittens are still in the SPCA's care, including those which are looked after in foster homes. The situation is similar at most SPCAs.

Whangārei SPCA Chief Inspector and manager Francine Shields said it is a "difficult time" because every day that number continued to grow.

"Every day kittens are dropped off."

Shields said that most drop-offs are because of "legitimate reasons", such as people finding abandoned kittens.

However, the SPCA cannot handle the number of kittens that people don't want and expect the SPCA to "sort their problem".

"Responsibility starts with them, so they don't get too many animals that they can't control."

An excess of unwanted cats means that the SPCA has "to make decisions which they don't want to make".

The SPCA wants donations such as tinned meats, litter and cat toys to help look after the kittens. And there's a request for the public to "come and adopt a kitten".

"It is important for people to desex their pets. The SPCA can assist with desexing," said Shields.

The biggest need for desexing is because of over-population, which Shields said is out of control. When pets are unwanted they can become abandoned, which means they might become strays and end up living in places such as the bush where they can become sick and predatory.

"People see pets as disposable. Once they die, people have the mindset that they can easily replace them." But "pets are a huge commitment".

Not desexing animals can lead to health issues, said Shields. It means they will be in heat more, breed more litters and could lead to uterine, prostrate and ovarian cancer.

"They should always be desexed, unless there is a specific reason."

Shields said that this time of year could be unsafe for animals, because of the extremely hot weather. Owners needed to take extra precaution to ensure that their pets were safe in the heat.

Owners need to be "constantly checking air flow" as kennels are not "always the safest place for animals as they can reach temperatures as high as 50 degrees. A cover needs to go over the kennel to prevent it from getting too hot."

Poultry struggles outside in heat, so owners need to remain "super aware". They also need "ample water" which is in easy reach for the animal and not a long distance away. "Adequate shade" is vital too.

Shields said that a pet should never be left in a warm car: "If you can't sit in the car with a jumper on for more than five minutes, then you should not leave your pet in there."

Even if the car is in the shade and the windows are down, the inside of a car can reach 49C after 30 minutes, she said.

Before taking dogs for a walk, you can check to see if it's too hot by holding the back of your hand against the footpath to check it is a safe temperature. Shields said it was ideal to exercise pets in the cooler parts of the day such as mornings and evenings.

Shields said dogs could only sweat a small amount through their paws and relied on panting to cool down, so it was a lot harder for them to cool down.

"Heat stress is really important to monitor as animals can go downhill really quickly."