Juneau shelter seeks foster homes for 50 cats removed from single residence

Kittens cuddle together astatine Juneau Animal Rescue connected Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)

Juneau Animal Control Officer Karen Wood opens nan doorway to a mini room swimming pinch mini kittens. 

“So this is astir apt our biggest room,” Wood said. “We’ve sewage 16 kittens and 3 moms, truthful it’s going to stink successful here.”  

That’s conscionable 1 room that is lodging an influx of cats. 

“We’re down to 3 quiet kennels and I’m a small concerned because we’ve sewage to spell retired and get immoderate much today,” she said. Later, she opens different room to a wall of quarantined big cats, waiting to get amended and get adopted. 

Juneau Animal Rescue removed much than 50 cats from a Juneau residence this period and still has much to bring in. Many are young kittens and galore are sick.

A kitten sits connected a broad astatine Juneau Animal Rescue connected Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)

They person terrible respiratory illnesses and parasites, but she’s optimistic they will each recover. Since nan rescue, nary of nan animals person died. 

Wood said an utmost number of cats for illustration this tin commencement pinch conscionable 2 unaltered adults. Cats successful nan aforesaid litter tin breed pinch each other, and it tin snowball from there. The costs to spay and neuter — and attraction — for that galore cats would quickly go unmanageable. 

“It’s conscionable truthful important, spaying and neutering — if 2 cats had been spayed and neutered, past we would person 52 little cats successful 1 household,” she said.

She said this is nan largest number of cats she’s seen successful a rescue business successful her 10 years pinch Animal Control. And this influx of cats intends Juneau Animal Rescue won’t beryllium capable to return much for a while, truthful group hoping to surrender a feline whitethorn person to hold longer than usual. 

She said she’s worried astir moving each of these animals into homes, but that nan kittens will apt beryllium adopted quickly, and they tin nonstop cats to different parts of Alaska if they don’t get adopted here. 

“We activity pinch Paws and Claws successful Skagway and HARK successful Haines, and moreover person sent cats up to Fairbanks,” Wood said. “So if we get to that point, we tin talk to them astir that. You know, if they’re present for months, evidently different places will return some.”

A feline looks done nan bars of its kennel astatine Juneau Animal Rescue connected Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)

Staff person had to shuffle cats astir to make room to isolate nan sick animals, but nan undersized ventilation strategy intends nan different cats successful nan building aren’t afloat protected, according to Rick Driscoll, nan executive head astatine nan rescue. 

“It’s really conscionable immoderate doors. That’s each we have,” he said. “From a champion practices position we’d for illustration to person aggregate ventilation systems.” 

Juneau Animal Rescue is raising money to move to a bigger space. Driscoll said their existent abstraction is half nan size recommended for an statement that serves truthful galore animals. 

When nan statement first posted astir these cats, Driscoll said nan organization donated astir $10,000 to thief money spay-and-neuter operations astatine a little cost, and for nan caller building fund. 

“It was really overwhelming really galore group chose to — wrong for illustration a 12-hour play — donate money to thief america pinch this peculiar situation,” he said.

More accusation astir fostering animals tin beryllium recovered at juneauanimalrescue.org. The shelter is besides offering highly reduced rabies vaccines for existing pets that unrecorded successful homes wherever owners want to foster.