Monmouth County SPCA Looking For Homes For Rescued Kittens

When the Monmouth County SPCA rescued 51 cats from a West Keansburg home, they saved them with the hopes of finding them a new and better home.

Even if new homes are found, these four legged friends will need even more attention from everything they have been through previously. Having been in a house where they were owned by a "animal hoarder," a press release from the SPCA said that the hoarder might have thought they were "saving," or "rescuing" the animals.

"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," the release said. 

Francesca Alexander, the MCSPCA Community Cat Coordinator said the 51 felines will all need special attention in the homes that adopt them. "Almost all of the cats have hernias, ear mites and all of them need to be spayed or neutered and receive flea and working treatments," she said. 

Some also have signs of neurological issues, heart murmurs and blindness. Sadly at least seven of the animals will have to be euthanized because they are beyond care for their medical issues. 

Of the remaining cats, 11 of them are eight weeks or younger who are too young to be adopted yet and will need special care. The rest are under three years old and while there are quite a few who are "friendly and cuddly," others are still "too scared to relax and enjoy the affections of the staff," according to the release. 

Since being rescued, the cats have been housed at the organization's Homeward Bound Adoption Center which already had cats there. Alexander said this has made for more cramped living conditions for all the residents. "We like to keep the cat gazebo numbers down around eight or nine," she said. "Even though they can hold twelve, it's a bit too tight. We've had to bump the gazebos up to 11 cats."

Alexander said all the living conditions have changed with the large infusion of cuddly critters. "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."

In an effort to find as many of the cats homes as possible, the center will be staying open late on April 1 for cat only adoptions. Normal business hours have the center open on Monday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. More information can be found on the organization's website or by calling 732-542-0040.