Anybody looking for a kitty in San Jose California?

Spring's 'kitty season' hits animal shelter hard
FAR MORE ARRIVE THAN FIND HOMES, FORCING DIFFICULT DECISIONS BY STAFF
By Linda Goldston
Mercury News

Gidget is a 1-year-old calico cat with perfectly round eyes and a
constant look of surprise. Orange is a 2-year-old petite cat who has a
bad hair day every day because her fur sticks out all over.

Gum Drop is a 2-month-old black kitten who's friendly and playful but
hard to distinguish from the dozens of other black kittens playing in
their cages.

The list of cats and kittens needing homes is seemingly endless at the
San Jose Animal Center. So many unwanted kitties -- babies and adults
-- are being dropped off at the shelter on Monterey Highway that the
staff is having to euthanize three to four times as many cats as people
are adopting.

In May alone, 1,307 kittens and cats were brought to the center. Local
animal groups took 96 of them for their adoption fairs and the center
adopted out 97. After the lost ones were reclaimed by their owners,
that meant 931 had to euthanized.

The first to go are kittens not old enough for adoption.

``We have so many right now, we had to clear out dog runs to put moms
and their newborn kittens in,'' said Julie St. Gregory, spokeswoman for
the center. ``It's a terrible tragedy, and we hope the public will step
up to the plate and adopt some of these wonderful kitties.''

Not yet a year old, San Jose's animal shelter is reeling from its first
experience with the spring kitty season, and it's taking a heavy toll
on the staff as well. Rows of towel-covered cages filled with kittens
line the hallways most days as harried workers and volunteers try to
figure out where they'll put them.

``We are right in the middle of expanding the facility to add more
space for cats and a low cost spay/neuter clinic for the public,'' said
Jon Cicirelli, deputy director of San Jose's Animal Care & Services
Division.

By the fall, the center will be able to offer one of the best bargains
around for spaying and neutering cats: $5 for males, $10 for females.
Until then, the center is running ads on the radio and in newspapers,
trying to find homes for as many as they can. The center also serves
Cupertino, Los Gatos, Milpitas and Saratoga.

``What we need are the people to come here to find their pets and to
tell others to come here if they are looking for a pet,'' Cicirelli
said. ``It really feels great to know you saved a life and got a
wonderful companion in the bargain.''

In addition to homes for the cats and kittens ready for adoption, the
center also needs volunteers to foster the very young ones and to help
out at the center, walking dogs and playing with the cats and kittens.
Only four hours of training is required to be a center volunteer.

``It helps to get the kitties out of the cages for even 20 minutes,''
said St. Gregory, who especially worries about the many cages of black
kittens and cats.

On a recent day, several cages in a row held black kittens, their soft
paws gently reaching through the wire, trying to connect, trying to
convince someone to take them home.

``Nobody adopts the black kittens,'' St. Gregory said. ``Some people
are superstitious. Black dogs don't get adopted either.''

But even adoption is not always a guarantee.

Poor Latte had been brought to the center twice: the first time because
his family was leaving the country, the second time because the man who
adopted him didn't like Latte sleeping on his bed. But his luck may
have changed on Saturday, when he was adopted by an older couple who
said it was just fine if Latte sleeps on their bed.

Walking through the adoption rooms, the kittens are the friendliest,
rushing to the front of the cages, hoping for someone to play with, not
knowing what will happen if no one takes them home.

The older cats are quieter.

The cats recently available for adoption included Yuri, a 3-month-old
black and white cat with a spot in the middle of his nose, and Kiss, a
2-month-old tortoise shell who ``talked'' up a storm when visitors
walked by and tried desperately to grab onto someone with his paw.

In another room, the stickers on the cage for Gidget, the calico, read:
``Very playful.'' ``Loves Attention.'' ``Loves to sit in laps.''

Not far away was Mango, a 1-year-old polydactyl, whose cage stickers
said he is ``energetic,'' ``friendly'' and ``loves to play.''

For $75, any one of the kitties can be yours. That includes licensing,
spaying or neutering, microchipping and vaccinations. The adoption fee
for dogs is $105.