Kitten season is formally underway in Palm Beach, with city officers and native advocates calling on residents and guests to be aware of the fluffy little feral felines, and report any sightings.
Kitten season usually begins within the spring annually, bringing with it some cute new faces on the island. The city despatched an alert to residents April 9 reminding them to report any sightings to Palm Beach Island Cats at 561-800-4725.
Palm Beach Island Cats was based about 14 years in the past to take care of a rising feral cat inhabitants.
The organization’s president, David Leavitt, stated it’s vital that residents and guests contact Palm Beach Island Cats as quickly as they spot a litter of kittens within the wild.
“The hard thing for us is not knowing, not being alerted to the kittens,” he stated. “The kittens are a clear sign that you have a fertile female.”
Once notified, Palm Beach Island Cats will ship somebody to lure the kittens and mom cat so the kittens may be domesticated and adopted, and the mom cat may be spayed, Leavitt stated.
“If people don’t call us, it can turn into a big problem,” he stated, noting a scenario a number of years in the past the place a gaggle of three cats on one North End avenue shortly turned a colony of 46 cats.
When Palm Beach Island Cats started its work, the variety of feral cats was greater than 1,000.
The most recent census in 2023 counted 350 cats, Leavitt stated.
“We want all cats living safe inside houses,” he stated.
If that isn’t a chance — some cats can’t be domesticated — then the cat is trapped, neutered or spayed, and returned to the island.
Once these grownup cats are sterilized, the feral feline inhabitants drops by way of attrition, Leavitt stated.
A staff of volunteers displays the handfuls of colonies round Palm Beach, he stated.
There’s a protracted historical past of cats enjoying an vital position with pest management on Palm Beach island, Leavitt stated.
As a barrier island, there’s a rat inhabitants, and the cats assist to manage it, he stated.
“Our program works, and we’ve shown it works by the population dropping,” Leavitt stated. “The truth of the matter is, there will always have to be a group like ours in Palm Beach.”
For extra details about Palm Beach Island Cats or easy methods to report a litter of kittens, go to pbislandcats.org.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, a part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can attain her at [email protected]. Subscribe right now to help our journalism.
