New Hampshire Humane Society over-run with cats

LACONIA — In New England, dogs are more valued as pets than cats, a reality that cuts two ways at the New Hampshire Humane Society. As a result, and combined with several other factors, the organization is currently over-run with cats and is taking aggressive steps to manage its feline population.

Marylee Gorham-Waterman, a spokesperson for the humane society, said the facility on Meredith Center Road could comfortably hold about 130 cats at any given time. Once the cat population reaches the 160 mark, caring for the felines begins to tax the available staff and volunteer time. "When you get up over the 200 mark, it's just too many," said Gorham-Waterman.

The humane society is a self-described "no-kill shelter" and is committed to housing animals for as long as it takes for them to find a home.

The shelter currently has about 220 cats and as recently as a couple of weeks ago was up to 245. That's as much as the humane society has had in recent memory, and the concentration of animals resulted in an outbreak of a feline respiratory virus, management of which required the shelter to impose a temporary ban on new arrivals. That ban has since been lifted but the problem of a large cat population remains.

To help reduce their population, the shelter has reduced its cat adoption fee to $25 for animals older than six months. Gorham-Waterman said the usual fee is $75 and she expects the reduced rate to stay in place through the end of the calendar year. She's also hoping to add to her list of foster homes, which is how the shelter prefers to care for their newborn kittens and the mother cat. For more information, see www.nhhumane.org or visit the shelter, which is open Tuesday through Saturday.

Driving the ballooning cat population are a number of causes, some typical and others unusual. The late fall usually sees a spike in the shelter's cat population, as it coincides with the second feline birthing season of the year. It's also the time of year when weather starts to turn uglier and when many residents will leave the region for winter residences. If someone's been feeding or looking after a stray cat through the summer, now's typically the time when they'll catch the animal and bring it to the shelter.

In addition to seasonal fluctuations, the country's lingering economic downturn has also become a character in this drama. As families look for yet more places to trim their budget or the foreclosure papers arrive, the family cats often become seen as expendable. To help in this situation, the shelter has implemented a pet food pantry, but even that resource has run dry recently. "People simply don't have the money to take care of their pets, and here they come," Gorham-Waterman said.

As much of a problem as the cat population has become, it's a different story in the canine section of the shelter. Although their owners are under the same economic pressures – and some have been forced to relinquish their pets due to foreclosures and evictions – the dog population has remained manageable while the cats have begun to overtake offices and storage space at the shelter. Referring to cats, Gorham-Waterman said, "They're considered a lesser pet than dogs. That's the crux of the problem."

The difficulty, she said, is due the way pet owners and local towns view cats as opposed to dogs. Leash laws, which in some towns prevent an owner from letting his or her dog run loose, don't apply to cats and many cat owners allow their pets to roam at will. Allowing cats outside isn't itself problematic, said Gorham-Waterman. The problem occurs when some of those cats aren't spayed or neutered. A female cat becomes fertile twice each year, and if left to her own devices, will find a mate and produce a litter.

Each litter will produce about four to six kittens, and a cat can have two litters per year. Within six months, the progeny of those litters become mature enough to have their own kittens. In theory, Gorham-Waterman said, this means that a mating pair of cats, left alone for five years, could produce a colony of cats in the tens of thousands.

"Pick a town – There are feral colonies everywhere," said Gorham-Waterman, listing local communities such as Meredith, Ashland, Alexandria and Franklin that have well-established wild cat populations. While some of the shelter's cats are surrendered pets, she said that about 70 percent of their felines come in as strays from local towns.

The humane society expects to see about 900 cats pass through its doors this year. The average cat will wait for five months before being adopted, although some cats are still waiting after a year of life at the shelter. Gorham-Waterman said black cats have proven to be the least popular among potential adopters, for reasons she can't quite explain.

Despite the trouble some families are having, Gorham-Waterman reported that adoption rates have held steady. This week, for example, 16 cats had been adopted as of Friday afternoon and 18 dogs found a new home. However, to meet the demand for dogs, the local shelter will ship dogs up from southern states, saving them from almost certain euthanization.

The shelter doesn't have to look far for more cats, however. As Gorham-Waterman said, "For every ten that get adopted, 12 more come in the next day... The well never runs dry."

CAPTION for CAT COLUMBUS in AA:

"Columbus," an orange tabby cat, has been at the New Hampshire Humane Society since October 2009. The animal shelter is over-run with cats and is offering greatly reduced adoption fees to help manage the problem. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)

CAPTION for CAT MURPHY in AA:

This cat is the newest arrival at the New Hampshire Humane Society, having been trapped on the shelter's grounds on Friday morning. The shelter will provide much-needed medical attention while it attempts to find the cat's owner. Amy Despres, a shelter employee, is shown here picking burrs out of the cat's matted fur. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)