TUCSON, Ariz. — Fewer kittens in Arizona could actually be a good thing for cat-lovers and the community overall.
Over the past few years, Pima Animal Care Center's team has increased spay and neuter numbers through their Snip 'N Tip campaign and resulting clinics.
Now, with kitten season around the corner, they say they're really seeing a difference this time around.
Usually, the start of spring sparks stressful memories for long-term PACC team members.
“It was chaos," said Public Information Officer Nikki Reck. "Like, we would get radio calls: litter of kittens, litter of kittens, litter of kittens."
She started with PACC in 2018, just a year before they hit their highest peak in kitten intake.
In 2019, the shelter took in 2,334 kittens.
“These kennels used to all be full with cats and cats and kittens and cats and kittens," Reck said. "Kitten season used to be like all hands on deck.”
Things have changed. Last year, they were down to 1,347 new kittens, showing a 42% decline since starting their Snip 'N Tip campaign in 2021, encouraging Arizonans to get their cats, and community cats in their neighborhood, spayed or neutered to drive down overpopulation problems.
“We have just been able to consistently spay and neuter hundreds of cats each time we hold the event,” Reck said.
She credits the now bi-annual free spay and neuter clinics with making a huge dent in Pima County's outdoor cat population.
They aren't the only shelter seeing the shift. Hermitage Cat Sanctuary has too.
“It kind of feels every year like we get a little bit of weight off our shoulders," said Tiffany Johnson.
Johnson has been a medical supervisor at Hermitage for over a decade, and credits programs like Snip 'N Tip and other community efforts with helping take that weight.
“If they were out in the public and they were unaltered, they’d continue to breed and have babies and those babies would have babies," She said. "There’s already an overpopulation problem, so without spaying and neutering them, it would just continue to contribute.”
However, having fewer kittens does not necessarily mean fewer cats in the shelter. At Hermitage, Johnson says, while their kitten numbers are dropping, they're seeing an increase in owner surrenders, with many owners stating they simply cannot afford to care for their cats.
While the shelter teams both say they adore cats, they're glad to see fewer felines around town.
“The goal is empty kennels, for both cats and dogs," said Reck. "The reason for that is that means they have homes. They have the resources they need, and they don’t need to be with us."
That allows them to use their time and resources on the animals that already exist in their care.
The Snip 'N Tip program is one of many efforts in the community to cut down on overpopulation. If you need to get your pet or a community cat fixed before PACC's next free SNip 'N Tip event, try these:
- Friends of PACC Clinic at 2661 N 1st Ave.
- Arizona Spay and Neuter at 4 W Grant Rd.
- Animal Birth Control of Tucson at 1114 S Craycroft Rd.
- Eastside Pet Clinic at 7036 E Broadway Blvd.
- Santa Cruz Veterinary Clinic at 5408 s 12th Ave.
