A Catastrophe Spokane County Animal Shelter Overwhelmed By Hundreds Of Cats

Stray and abandoned cats have poured into the Spokane County Animal Shelter at such an alarming rate recently that animal control officials are begging pet owners to limit their animals’ reproduction.

Nearly 600 cats were housed at the shelter in October and November of this year, according to county records. That’s 130 more than in 1999, a 28 percent increase, shelter officials said.

“I’ve been so frustrated lately. I’ve nearly reached my breaking point, and that hasn’t happened before,” said shelter director Nancy Hill, who has 15 years’ experience in animal control. “We at the shelter cannot stop this. We need help from the community.”

The increased admissions have resulted in more euthanasia.

In October alone, shelter staff killed 223 cats, compared to 116 during the same month last year, records show.

During one stretch, animal control assistant Emylee Tolliver said she was giving lethal injections to as many as 10 cats per day.

“It’s such a waste of life,” Tolliver said as dozens of cats and kittens played or slept in shelter cages Thursday. “It’s just not necessary if people would spay their cats, if they’d make a lifetime commitment to them. It takes a toll. Sometimes, I go into the back room and cry.”

Animal control officials aren’t sure what has caused the recent spike in cast-off cats in Spokane.

But trends locally and nationally show more cats are winding up in shelters each year, despite educational campaigns to encourage spaying and neutering and efforts to license felines.

The number of cats entering shelters nationwide increased from 1.5 million in 1994 to more than 1.75 million in 1997, according to the latest figures compiled by the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy, a pet advocacy group based in New London, Minn.

The number of dogs housed in shelters also has increased, but at a slower rate. In addition, far more dogs than cats are reclaimed by their owners.

Theories as to why more cats are winding up in shelters abound.

Sheer numbers may be one answer.

In the early 1990s, cats surpassed dogs as Americans’ favorite pets. There are an estimated 55 million cats and kittens in the country.

And population growth in Spokane County over the past decade probably brought more cats to the area.

“Population growth in the Valley is most likely affecting it,” said Connie Seymour, a local pet advocate who belongs to the volunteer Save A Dog rescue program. “There are going to be more animals.”

Then there are sociological reasons.

Hill speculated that many people consider cats “a disposable commodity.” They don’t license them, as required by law, and they don’t worry when their cats go missing for a few days.

“Then it winds up here and by the time they come looking for it, it’s too late. It’s either adopted or killed,” she said.

Tolliver pointed out an example Thursday: a black tom in one of the shelter’s cages. The cat had on a red collar when it was brought into the shelter.

“This is someone’s cat,” she said. “Where are they? Why aren’t they coming to get him?”

Cats wearing identification are held for five business days after the owner is notified. They then are available for adoption while space permits before being euthanized.

Cats without ID are immediately made available for adoption and are held for up to a week before being killed.

Economics also are a factor in the increasing number of cats in shelters.

Many people in the Spokane area, which has a high poverty rate, abandon their pets when the cost of food, health care or kitty litter becomes burdensome, Seymour said.

“For a lot of people, the bottom line is cost,” she said. “You have people getting pets who can’t afford to care for them properly, whether that be with a fence, with training, with spaying.”

While Hill encourages residents to help alleviate the current surfeit of cats by adopting one, she said the long-term solution requires a concerted effort by the community.

“Adoptions are not the solution. That’s just a Band-Aid,” said Hill, whose $834,000-per-year budget contains little money for education.

People should get a pet only if they plan to make a lifetime commitment to it, and they should have the animal spayed or neutered as soon as possible, Hill said.

Tolliver agreed.

“What do people think we’re going to do with all of them?” she said. “You wonder why people aren’t getting the message.”

Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. BACKGROUND Cats on increase

The number of cats entering shelters nationwide increased from 1.5 million in 1994 to more than 1.75 million in 1997.

- Figures from the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy

2. IF YOU GO Shelter open today

The county animal shelter, at 2521 N. Flora Road, is open today from 1-4:30 p.m.