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Anybody looking for a kitty in San Jose California?
Spring's 'kitty season' hits animal shelter hard
FAR MORE ARRIVE THAN FIND HOMES, FORCING DIFFICULT DECISIONS BY STAFF By Linda Goldston Mercury News Gidget is a 1-year-old calico cat with perfectly round eyes and a constant look of surprise. Orange is a 2-year-old petite cat who has a bad hair day every day because her fur sticks out all over. Gum Drop is a 2-month-old black kitten who's friendly and playful but hard to distinguish from the dozens of other black kittens playing in their cages. The list of cats and kittens needing homes is seemingly endless at the San Jose Animal Center. So many unwanted kitties -- babies and adults -- are being dropped off at the shelter on Monterey Highway that the staff is having to euthanize three to four times as many cats as people are adopting. In May alone, 1,307 kittens and cats were brought to the center. Local animal groups took 96 of them for their adoption fairs and the center adopted out 97. After the lost ones were reclaimed by their owners, that meant 931 had to euthanized. The first to go are kittens not old enough for adoption. ``We have so many right now, we had to clear out dog runs to put moms and their newborn kittens in,'' said Julie St. Gregory, spokeswoman for the center. ``It's a terrible tragedy, and we hope the public will step up to the plate and adopt some of these wonderful kitties.'' Not yet a year old, San Jose's animal shelter is reeling from its first experience with the spring kitty season, and it's taking a heavy toll on the staff as well. Rows of towel-covered cages filled with kittens line the hallways most days as harried workers and volunteers try to figure out where they'll put them. ``We are right in the middle of expanding the facility to add more space for cats and a low cost spay/neuter clinic for the public,'' said Jon Cicirelli, deputy director of San Jose's Animal Care & Services Division. By the fall, the center will be able to offer one of the best bargains around for spaying and neutering cats: $5 for males, $10 for females. Until then, the center is running ads on the radio and in newspapers, trying to find homes for as many as they can. The center also serves Cupertino, Los Gatos, Milpitas and Saratoga. ``What we need are the people to come here to find their pets and to tell others to come here if they are looking for a pet,'' Cicirelli said. ``It really feels great to know you saved a life and got a wonderful companion in the bargain.'' In addition to homes for the cats and kittens ready for adoption, the center also needs volunteers to foster the very young ones and to help out at the center, walking dogs and playing with the cats and kittens. Only four hours of training is required to be a center volunteer. ``It helps to get the kitties out of the cages for even 20 minutes,'' said St. Gregory, who especially worries about the many cages of black kittens and cats. On a recent day, several cages in a row held black kittens, their soft paws gently reaching through the wire, trying to connect, trying to convince someone to take them home. ``Nobody adopts the black kittens,'' St. Gregory said. ``Some people are superstitious. Black dogs don't get adopted either.'' But even adoption is not always a guarantee. Poor Latte had been brought to the center twice: the first time because his family was leaving the country, the second time because the man who adopted him didn't like Latte sleeping on his bed. But his luck may have changed on Saturday, when he was adopted by an older couple who said it was just fine if Latte sleeps on their bed. Walking through the adoption rooms, the kittens are the friendliest, rushing to the front of the cages, hoping for someone to play with, not knowing what will happen if no one takes them home. The older cats are quieter. The cats recently available for adoption included Yuri, a 3-month-old black and white cat with a spot in the middle of his nose, and Kiss, a 2-month-old tortoise shell who ``talked'' up a storm when visitors walked by and tried desperately to grab onto someone with his paw. In another room, the stickers on the cage for Gidget, the calico, read: ``Very playful.'' ``Loves Attention.'' ``Loves to sit in laps.'' Not far away was Mango, a 1-year-old polydactyl, whose cage stickers said he is ``energetic,'' ``friendly'' and ``loves to play.'' For $75, any one of the kitties can be yours. That includes licensing, spaying or neutering, microchipping and vaccinations. The adoption fee for dogs is $105. |
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