At least 40 cats and kittens at a Juneau residence, many of them in need of medical care, are being taken into custody by Juneau Animal Rescue, which issued a statement Wednesday asking people to not bring healthy strays and other cats to the shelter until the situation is resolved.
“JAR’s Animal Control & Protection Team took custody of 30 cats and kittens from a single residence yesterday,” a statement posted at the organization’s Facebook page at midday Wednesday notes. “There are at least 10-15 more cats at the residence that (animal control officials) will be taking custody of once we can free up more shelter space.”
Juneau Animal Control is still investigating the case so specific details cannot be released, said Karen Wood, the agency’s director of animal control and prevention, in an interview Wednesday.
Shelter officials, in a subsequent Facebook comment, stated all of the cats and kittens came from and were born at the home.
“This was a situation where unaltered cats reproducing quickly got out of control,” the comment states. “They are currently being treated for medical conditions and will not be able to visit or be up for adoption for some time.”
The private, nonprofit animal shelter is “already struggling for space and will need to come up with creative solutions to house this many cats,” according to the Facebook post.
“These types of cases highlight the need for adequate space to house the city’s animals,” the post states. “JAR’s building is just too small to handle large influxes of animals in situations such as this.”
Shelter officials said earlier this year they are seeking a new location to replace the current shelter built during the 1980s, due to repairs needed to the building as well as shortage of space.
People are being asked to leave healthy stray cats alone and to postpone bringing surrendered cats to the animal shelter. Also, according to the organization, “it may take up to a few weeks to schedule a cat intake appointment due to our lack of space.”
More information about pet adoptions, donations to provide care, and other programs and services is available at www.juneauanimalrescue.org.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
