It’s February and you may already have heard the caterwauling of mating cats outside your bedroom windows. We need your help as there is no time to lose in order to get a jump start on curbing the births of street kittens.

We rely heavily on the public to contact us when feral cats invade their neighborhoods. It is our job to trap these animals so that they can be examined by a veterinarian for general health, vaccinated, treated for fleas and spayed/neutered to stop their incessant urge to breed.

A few cats hanging around is generally not problematic, in fact it’s a good thing for the environment. It is entirely another matter when the few turn into dozens due to the insatiable mating instinct.

It’s the goal of Catalyst for Cats to end overpopulation of feral cats within Santa Barbara County. While we know that catching, spaying/neutering them all is impossible, we have made great inroads into lowering the birth rate of unwanted litters over the last two plus decades. This has been largely due to calls from people such as you.

At this time females are going into heat and “calling” mates to them by scent and sound. In a few weeks most of them will be pregnant and then 65 days later they will give birth.

A feral queen will stay hidden with her litter for approximately two weeks, only taking a quick hunting and potty break sometime in the dark of night. As the kittens grow, the mother will leave them more frequently and for longer periods of time, always returning to nurse her babies at least every two hours. This is why a female gone “missing” will suddenly show up two weeks later, ravenously hungry.

Kittens will not appear in public until their mothers begin to wean them at about five to six weeks. This is when she leads them to her food source. If they are much older than that, many will already be too feral to have any chance for socialization and adoption.

The survival rate is only around 50% if they remain on the street, so please call us as soon as you spot kittens. Do not wait to try and befriend them as we have trained fosters set up to do that. We need to get the kittens into the program early for their physical and social well-being.

Cats will continue to breed throughout the summer and into fall, as long as the weather remains warm. A female usually drops at least two litters per season, but can have four if the conditions of weather and food source are perfect. This also determines to a certain extent the number of kittens per litter. In normal years, a litter averages four kittens. An optimal season, one usually preceded by a wet winter and mild temperatures, can cause a queen to birth five to seven.

To further complicate things, kittens born at the beginning of the season can breed within four months and have their own offspring!

So you see how important the timing is for alerting us now. Please do not put off calling if you have seen strange cats hanging around your neighborhood. We would like to catch them before they have kittens.

It would be very helpful if you are able to get an accurate head count and descriptions before you pick up the phone. If you are in the position to help us lure them in for easier trapping, we would welcome your assistance and provide you with the necessary equipment and training. We will handle the trapping.

Thank you in advance for being our eyes and ears. If you would like to do more, give us a call and we will tell you about the volunteer opportunities we have open.