Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

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

Northern Advocate
1 Feb, 2019 07:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Whangārei SPCA staff Kirsty Houghton, Corien Munro and Tyler Fox with some of the  kittens the centre is caring for. Photo / John Stone
Whangārei SPCA staff Kirsty Houghton, Corien Munro and Tyler Fox with some of the kittens the centre is caring for. Photo / John Stone

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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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".

Discover more

Kahu

Northland nurse leaves to take up Government role

03 Feb 11:00 PM

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."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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."

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

High Court settles ownership of Harley-Davidson in major drug bust

Northern Advocate

Northland’s biggest water services changes kick off in Whangārei

Northern Advocate

Accessible respite service offers unique relief for Northland families


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Uber is testing a women-only driver service in US, here’s how it works
World

Uber is testing a women-only driver service in US, here’s how it works

Trump signs order to block 'woke AI' in federal contracts
World

Trump signs order to block 'woke AI' in federal contracts

US regulators approve contentious $8b Skydance-Paramount merger
World

US regulators approve contentious $8b Skydance-Paramount merger

Afternoon quiz: What is the largest bone in the human skull?
New Zealand

Afternoon quiz: What is the largest bone in the human skull?

MFAT tells Kiwis to avoid popular Asian holiday spots as conflict erupts
New Zealand

MFAT tells Kiwis to avoid popular Asian holiday spots as conflict erupts

Convicted in Venezuela, freed by the US
World

Convicted in Venezuela, freed by the US



Latest from Northern Advocate

High Court settles ownership of Harley-Davidson in major drug bust
Northern Advocate

High Court settles ownership of Harley-Davidson in major drug bust

Motorcycle seized as part of operation that uncovered 17kg of meth and $240,000 of assets.

25 Jul 02:00 AM
Northland’s biggest water services changes kick off in Whangārei
Northern Advocate

Northland’s biggest water services changes kick off in Whangārei

25 Jul 12:00 AM
Accessible respite service offers unique relief for Northland families
Northern Advocate

Accessible respite service offers unique relief for Northland families

24 Jul 11:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search