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Cats in Need of Homes Still Pack City Shelters Despite High Adoption Rates

By Ben Fractenberg | August 28, 2015 2:49pm | Updated on August 30, 2015 9:56pm
 City animal shelters are still full of cats brought in during the busy summer season. 
ACC August Cats
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MANHATTAN — Cat adoptions soared at city shelters this summer, but felines continued to flood in during the warm months, with more than 2,100 brought into shelters in July, according to Animal Care Centers of NYC.

Shelters were overflowing with cats last month after more than 1,000 kitties than usual were brought into shelters. There were 2,375 cats and kittens taken into the shelters in June, compared with 1,077 in January. 

Summer is usually the busiest time of the year for shelters, as cats that are not spayed tend to give birth from April through September, officials said.

Luckily, cat adoptions are also on the rise.

More than 140 cats were adopted during the week ending Aug. 16 and 348 were adopted in July.

And more than 1,200 cats were transferred to partner organizations that help find homes for dogs, cats, rabbits and exotic animals, ACC officials said.

There were 502 cats euthanized in July, with more than half of them suffering from untreatable illnesses, according to ACC data. 

“Cats and kittens continue to come in in large numbers, however, so we still need more adopters (and foster volunteers as well),” ACC spokeswoman Alexandra Silver said in an email.

You can check ACC’s website for a listing of cats available at their Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island shelters.