It’s raining cats and kittens at the BC SPCA’s Surrey branch.

The local shelter is at capacity caring for more than 100 cats and kittens and is urging members of the public who are thinking about enriching their lives with a new feline family member to come down and have a look at the wonderful pets available.

“We’ve got long-haired cats, short-haired cats, black cats, white cats, brown cats, tabbies, calicos and torties galore,” says branch manager Valerie Sigler.

The Surrey shelter has 60 cats and kittens on-site, and another 50 primarily kittens in foster care in the community. Animals at the shelter can be viewed during visiting hours, while the foster kittens can be viewed during a special kitten adopt-athon on Saturday, July 4, from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. at the shelter, 6706 152 St.

“It’s a great way to get to know a lot of kittens in a very short time,” says Sigler. “But beware — they are absolutely irresistible and you might find yourself adopting more than one…”

The Surrey shelter is also seeking temporary foster homes for mother cats with litters as well as orphaned kittens who need bottle feeding, injured and adult cats.

The shelter’s appeal comes at a time when BC SPCA branches across the province are already dealing with an influx of kittens from summer litters as well as adult cats being returned to them from Petcetera stores after the pet-supply chain filed for bankruptcy in June.

“If we didn’t have both of these things happening at once, we might be able to transfer cats from overcrowded shelters to shelters that have room,” said Kim Monteith, the society’s regional animal welfare supervisor. “But right now, everyone is at or near capacity.”

For more information, hours of operation and the location of any SPCA branch in B.C., visit spca.bc.ca.

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