Recent headline in our local paper: 51 cats removed from West Keansburg home!  Unfortunately the article can never complete “the rest of the story” for the feline victims or the staff of the Monmouth County SPCA (MCSPCA). While the act of animal cruelty sadly grabs the headlines, it is the continuing story of these victims that often goes untold.  The stress and trauma of being taken from their homes and put into a shelter environment usually leaves the animal feeling scared, confused and unsocial.

While the reasons that lead an individual to collect or hoard animals may never be completely understood, many medical professionals feel that some form of mental illness may be involved with this behavior.  Often the hoarder thinks they are “saving” or “rescuing” these animals when the truth is they are doing the complete opposite.  Typically in hoarding cases, the animals have never made a trip to a veterinarian and have been denied the most basic of care, such as proper nutrition, sanitation and medical care.

Unfortunately the 51 cats in this situation are all suffering some degree of illness or medical issues.  “Almost all of the cats have hernias, ear mites and all of them need to be spayed or neutered and receive flea and worming treatments,” Francesca Alexander, MCSPCA Community Cat Coordinator explained of the cats immediate medical needs.  Some of the more serious issues include neurological issues, heart murmurs, blindness and the necessary euthanizing of at least seven of the cats for extreme medical problems.

There are at least 11 kittens all eight weeks or under, who are too young for adoption and require special attention and needs such as Kitten Milk Replacer™, bottles, heating pads and foster caregivers. The rest of the cats are all under three years old.  While many of the cats are very friendly and cuddly, there are still a few that are too scared to relax and enjoy the affections of the staff.

The addition of so many cats entering the MCSPCA Homeward Bound Adoption Center also disrupts the living arrangements of the current feline residents who suddenly find themselves being housed tighter together to make room for the new additions. “We like to keep the cat gazebo numbers down around eight or nine.  Even though they can hold twelve, it’s a bit too tight.  We’ve had to bump the gazebos up to eleven cats. We like to have one cat per cubby and now we’re forced to have two cats per cubby. When numbers are down they have room to move, but now they are going to be upset having to share their space, which leads to stress and illness,” added Ms. Alexander.

Getting the cats adopted into loving homes as soon as possible is so important, the MCSPCA Homeward Bound Adoption Center will be staying open late until 9pm on Friday, April 1, 2011 for Cat Only Adoptions.  The situation is serious as we have to avoid any additional stress on the animals before the feline population increases even higher with the onset of “kitten season”.  The MCSPCA adoption center is open regularly seven days a week Monday – Friday 1pm – 5pm and Saturday – Sunday 12pm – 5pm.