Kittens flood the SPCA

MEOWED OUT: It's a hectic kitten season and SPCA shelter manager Karen Rolfe is inundated with kittens. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

It's kitten season and Rotorua SPCA is bursting at the seams with them.

It currently has 200 kittens in its care, 50 of which are on site and another 150 in foster homes.

Shelter manager Karen Rolfe said about 2000 cats and kittens went through the centre each year.

"Two-thirds of these are between October and April but, as the climate changes and it gets warmer the more kittens cats can have - we have them coming through winter now."

She said desexing was vitally important as it helped to reduce the number of unwanted animals.

Animals are only put down in extreme cases. A lot of kittens go straight to foster homes and the SPCA is on the lookout for more people to help foster. Ms Rolfe said they needed to be kind and gentle and have the spare time to socialise the kittens.

"Families are great, the kids play with the kittens and they get exposed to a lot more - families tend to bullet-proof them."

The SPCA supplies bedding, food and any medical treatment. Kittens normally stay in a home for four to six weeks.

They are returned to the SPCA to be desexed and rehomed.

-For more on pet desexing and being a foster carer, call (07) 349 2955 or go to www.rotoruaspca.org.nz