Crowding cat 'crisis'

Two weeks ago, 12 cats in a box were dumped in front of Kitten Rescue of Mason County's gate on state Route 3 in Shelton.

That brought the cat and kitten population at the nonprofit organization to 92 felines. Add to that the 110 cats at local foster homes, and the agency has 202 cats without permanent homes.

The after-hours abandonment of unwanted cats, a drop in adoptions and a shaky economy have combined to create "horrendous" and "deplorable" problems for the nonprofit, said Dee Sigmond, the group's executive director.

"It's a major, major crisis ... every cage is booked," Sigmond said. She added, "There's nowhere to take them."

The organization, launched in 1999, receives no government funding, relying exclusively on donations. Mason County provides no services for unwanted cats.

A surveillance camera at Kitten Rescue has captured motorists pulling up outside the gate and leaving behind animals.

"They're going to drop cats on my property, so now it's my problem," Sigmond said.

Residents get evicted from their homes and leave their cats behind. Others feed stray felines but don't get them fixed or check whether they have identification chips.

"There are so many colonies of feral cats," Sigmond said.

There's plenty of ways animal lovers can help.

The Humane Society of Mason County offers a spaying and neutering clinic three times a week in Belfair. The nonprofit also offers a Trap-Neuter-Return program that reduces cat overpopulation. For more information, call 360-275-9310 or go to hsmcwa.org.

Kitten Rescue last week dropped the price of cat and kitten adoption, which includes spaying and neutering. For more information, call 360-427-3167 or go to http://www.kittenresq.net.

Cat lovers can also make donations of food and money to the nonprofit, take in felines as foster owners, and make purchases at Kitten Rescue's quarterly garage sales.

The cats awaiting adoption at the facility are in six buildings.

"These guys live better than people," Sigmond said. "They have air conditioning. They have music."

She added, "We're trying to save as many lives as we can. That's our goal."