DAVENPORT — A kitten crisis facing already-full animal shelters in Davenport likely will get worse due to cat-hoarding residents who are being displaced from their homes, according to a local shelter director.
A no-kill animal shelter at King’s Harvest Ministries has been scrambling to find space for about 100 kittens belonging to a family of cat hoarders that learned they would be evicted from their home Thursday. Fifty-three of the kittens already are at King’s Harvest and others have been placed into foster homes, but some are still in the family’s house, said shelter director Terri Gleize.
Most of the kittens are in good health and range in age from several weeks old to about 1 year old.
“They are exceptionally sweet and affectionate kittens,” she said. “All they want is to be loved.”
The kittens have been treated for fleas, dewormed and vaccinated, Gleize said, adding that it cost the shelter a lot of money. The same family gave up more than 70 cats two years ago because they refused to spay or neuter them, she said.
Other shelters are facing similar problems due to the area’s kitten crisis, which will continue to affect both the animals and the facilities trying to care for them, according to Gleize.
The pending closure of a mobile home park in Davenport is expected to worsen the situation.
“I know of at least two, maybe three, trailers at Lake Canyada that have more than 70 cats,” Gleize said. “This is really a crisis, because (every shelter is) already full.
“If you were thinking about adopting a kitten or a cat, now is the time. This is really bad. They really need your help.”