Demand for kittens at Summerside charity triple the supply

As people spend more time at home during the pandemic, their thoughts have been turning to getting a pet, and a charity in Summerside is feeling the pressure.

It's not uncommon for demand to be ahead of supply at Keeping Cats Homed, but 2020 was something else entirely. The charity had 210 kittens available for adoption last year, and 633 applications.

"It was definitely COVID," said Sharon Dunn, a volunteer who processes applications for Keeping Cats Home, adding that people cited the pandemic right on their application forms as a reason for seeking companionship.

"'I'm home right now, I'd like a little friend to keep me company.' A lot of it too was, because people were home, they felt they had the time to devote to a young kitten," Dunn toldIsland Morning host Laura Chapin.

Careful vetting

Keeping Cats Homed will take in kittens from wherever they are available. They treat them for parasites such as fleas, and then send them out to foster homes for socialization before putting them out to adoption.

Dunn said they have a careful vetting process for adopters, which includes a contract requiring that the cats be neutered, have proper health care, and not be declawed. Given the vetting, Dunn doesn't think people will get through the application process for a kitten unless they're serious about keeping it.

"We feel that we have a sufficient enough vetting process that people aren't just going to decide, 'Oh, I'm going to get a kitten' and then get rid of it," she said.

Abandoned kittens

Given the demand for pets right now, Dunn said she was especially shocked to hear the story this week of two kittens found dead on Saturday.

They had been abandoned in a cardboard box on Brockton Road in western P.E.I.

"There's so many charities on the Island that deal with kittens," said Dunn.

"There's just no need for it. All you need to do is just go on Facebook, or go on the computer and Google 'cat rescue PEI' and I'm sure any of them would come up. There's no charge for us to take kittens and we're happy to do it."

Demand continues to be high, she said. The group has had 35 applications in January, and that was without any kittens available for adoption.

Cats don't tend to breed in the winter, and she is not expecting any kittens to be available until March.

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