The Bartholomew County Humane Society is struggling to keep up with the number of cats being housed at the facility, creating a need to ship some of the animals to adoption facilities in Ohio, and to other facilities on the East Coast.
Since last winter, at times the number of homeless animals has grown to what one volunteer described as “uncontrollable levels,” said volunteer Cheryl Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury, a retired teacher who has been volunteering for the organization for several decades.
As the new year arrived, the animal care shelter at 4415 E. County Road 200S was housing as many as 200 cats, Humane Society manager Jane Irwin said.
After several animals were recently transported to adoption facilities in Ohio, Maine and Vermont, the number of felines at the shelter was down to a more manageable 104 on May 1.
But since four female cats recently delivered litters of six or more kittens, it’s almost impossible to keep a stable cat population at the facility, Irwin said.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
