Humane society sees influx of kittens, cats

BANGOR – Times are tough economically, even for Tabby.

With the skyrocketing costs of heating oil, food and gasoline, some residents feel like they have no choice and are giving up their pets because they can’t afford to feed and care for them, Jeff Mitchell, Bangor Humane Society executive director, said Wednesday.

The humane society has seen a recent influx of cats and kittens, which he describes as a “very new phenomenon” for this time of year. On Friday and Saturday alone, nearly 80 felines were dropped off at the animal shelter.

“We had a number of people who simply said they had too many pets and couldn’t afford them,” Mitchell said. “People are struggling to heat their houses.

“If it’s a choice between heating your house or feeding your children or family, it’s much more responsible to bring [pets] here and we can find them new homes,” he said.

Some people dropped off animals, but others took more drastic measures, Mitchell said.

“We’re seeing a lot of abandoned animals,” he said.

The hallways of the humane society are lined with cat carriers filled with the homeless animals. With so many felines handed over in such a short period of time, it has taken a couple of days to prepare them for adoption, ensuring that they’ve all been given their shots and vaccines, and spaying and neutering them.

“We have tons of beautiful cats and kittens,” Mitchell said. “We’re bursting at the seams.”

Just about every type of cat is available, he said.

“We have tigers, we have black cats, we have white cats – you name it,” Mitchell said. “We have almost 130 cats, and we have almost 60 dogs.”

People can go to the humane society’s Web site, www.bangorhumane.org, to see the animals.

“They can look at the cats there and see if there is anything they’re interested in,” Mitchell said.

To adopt an animal from the shelter, a form will need to be filled out, which is used to match the animals to potential homes, and a fee is charged. Kittens are $100 and cats between the ages of 6 months and 10 years cost between $40 and $75. Those older than 10 years are free.

“That [fee] includes all shots and vaccines, the spaying and neutering – the works,” Mitchell said. “It’s a really good deal.”

With Christmas just around the corner, Mitchell wanted to stress that it’s not a good idea to give a cat or kitten as a surprise present.

“We shy away from people purchasing or adopting animals as gifts for people,” he said. “What we find is that 50 percent of those come back. We really like for [the new owners] to come in and meet the animals.”

The reason the 30 cats and 47 kittens were recently given up vary, Mitchell said, adding that it’s the job of the humane society to be there to care for the animals and try to secure a home for them when people find it becomes “too expensive to be able to feed them and provide pet care.

“We are here to find them new homes,” he said.