Macademia Picture from the Humane Society of Otter Tail County Facebook Page
With the warmer weather Minnesota has experienced this winter and spring, the Humane Society of Otter Tail County is expecting an explosion in the stray cat population; an explosion they don’t have the capacity to handle.
According to Jaclyn Keenan, the Shelter Manager at the Humane Society, since around May of 2022, the amount of animals being surrendered to the Humane Society has increased tremendously, while, adoption rates have gradually decreased.
This seems to be a trend across the Midwest, as Keenan explains, “We’re not the only ones, like, the whole state of Minnesota and North Dakota, and probably even South Dakota, are right now just full of animals.”
She adds, “Currently, we have 40 adult cats available for adoption in our shelter, which is a lot. I mean, that’s every single kennel full at this point in time.”
The Humane Society has actually had to turn away people with unwanted animals because they don’t have the space to take them.
Keenan says one of the best ways to help is to spay or neuter your own pets, so there won’t be any unwanted litters of animals to turn in.
To help the Humane Society curb the amount of surrendered cats, the Companion Animal Hospital is performing a spay/neuter marathon on March 16th, where it will be providing free surgeries to the first 40 cats that come in.
If you miss the marathon, you can still potentially get partial coverage with the Humane Society’s Prevent a Litter (PAL) Program.
The PAL Program assists low income pet owners by providing vouchers to participating animal clinics for spay/neuter surgeries.
The vouchers can be between $50-$125, depending on the species and sex of the animal.
If you’re interested in other ways you can help, like adopting an animal or donating a box of litter, contact the Humane Society of Otter Tail County at 218-739-3494.