The Season of Kittens

Did you know that there is a "kitten season".  It starts mid summer and stretches until late fall.
You see, female cats cycle seasonally:  as the days start get longer (February), adult female cats start to become amorous.  Sixty three days later, kittens start to be born (late spring) when the weather is warm, and babies are most likely to survive.
 These early kittens, at 8 weeks of age (mid summer) are ready to find a home, and often end up at a shelter or rescue or a rummage sale or a flea market.  This "season of endless kittens " continues until the days start getting shorter and cooler again (autumn) when adult females will lose their interest in intact males (until it starts all over again next year.)

Seasonal ovulators, like cats and rabbits, also have the ability to have up to 3  litters in a season, and will have between 1-8 kittens per litter on average.  And also like many mammals, female cats can become pregnant while they are themselves still young -as early as 6 months of age.

So the average unspayed female cat, in her lifetime, could have over 100 kittens.  It is said that  a single pair of cats and their kittens can produce as many as 420,000 kittens in just 7 years. 

If you know anyone that has an unspayed female or intact male cat, please encourage, cajole, nudge, sweet talk, hint,  or offer to pay to GET THEM FIXED.  There is nothing in the world as cute as a kitten, but there is nothing in the world sadder than seeing the shelters and rescues in late summer once again FILL UP with kittens, young adults, and adult cats that have no home.
Spread the word. 
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic