Every summer, the Ingham County Animal Shelter struggles to compete with numerous free kitten offers from a multitude of cat owners.
Grown cats or kittens that are more expensive because they have all their shots are the underdogs in the race for adoption, said Jamie McAloon Lampman, Ingham County Animal Control director.
McAloon Lampman said "cat season," a time span from spring through September when felines tend to reproduce, leads to more cats than owners know what to do with and fuels free cat giveaways. Potential for even more cat births increases with the free cat offers, because some people don't care for the cats properly by not spaying or neutering them, she said.
But this summer, the county animal shelter is trying something new to reduce the number of unwanted felines. Cats at the shelter, which have all been spayed or neutered, have their shots and have been tested for diseases, will be sold for $30 through the month of August — half the price they normally are.
"We're being more proactive," she said. "We just don't want to kill. Who does?"
McAloon Lampman said more than 70 percent of the cats the shelter receives in the summer eventually end up being put to sleep because the shelter runs out of room.
Two donors volunteered to pay for the reduction in cost of adopted cats, McAloon Lampman said and added the promotion has worked, but more help is needed.
"There's definitely an increase in adoption, but it's a drop in the bucket when you look at the numbers," she said. Although cat overpopulation is a national problem, McAloon Lampman said Ingham County Animal Control is one of a few government agencies that's actually working to deal with the issue. East Lansing adopted a stray cat ordinance in December, which sets a limit to how much residents can feed cats they don't own.
Mark Grebner, Ingham County commissioner and chairman of the county Board of Commissioners, proposed the ordinance and said no one has used it.
"If there's a couple of cats and someone feeds them, it's not a problem. The ordinance isn't about that," he said. "The ordinance is aimed at people who begin feeding cats and pretty soon they end up with large numbers of cats hanging around their house, which is a problem for the neighborhood."
Grebner said a large amount of cats could spell danger to other residents, especially children. McAloon Lampman said cats are a greater risk factor for rabies than dogs because they kill bats, and bats are carriers for the disease.
Jean Golden, East Lansing deputy city manager, said she's not aware of any stray cat complaints lately.
"The ordinance is designed to change human behavior rather than the cat's behavior," she said.
