"Kitnapping": Jacksonville Human Society asks for community's support with kitten crisis

Local shelters are in the midst of what they call a “kitten crisis” with an overwhelming number of kittens being dropped off at their facilities.

They are now calling on the community to help these animals and reduce the risk for reproduction.

At the beginning of April, Action News Jax showed you data from Animal Care and Protective Services, as well as the Jacksonville Humane Society.

Combined, the shelters received more than 7,600 underage kittens in 2018, which is more than 5,944 in 2015.

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While it is encouraged to be friendly and help stray cats, JHS has asked for the person to get the animal spayed or neutered.

“If you feed, they will breed,” Lindsay Layendecker said. “If you are feeding cats, then please take the steps to get that cat spayed or neutered.”

Layendecker is the Senior Manager of Education Outreach at JHS.

She first told Action News Jax about the growing population issue three weeks ago.

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Now, she is teaching the public how to properly respond to kittens when found outside of their home.

Instead of jumping into action, she urges those to watch and wait for the kittens mother to come back. They refer to this as “kitnapping.”

Layendecker said the mother cat is likely close by and will come back to tend to her kittens.

“See if you can find the mother cat anywhere, (id) are there other kittens nearby,” Layendecker said. “Because, really, if you can keep those kittens with their mother, their chances for survival goes up dramatically.”

If the mother cat returns, provide the necessary support, like food, shelter and water. It is also important to take the necessary steps to get the kittens spayed or neutered to reduce the growing population.

If the mother cat does not return, she recommends taking the kittens to a local shelter to get medical treatment.

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Cox Media Group