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Basket o’ Kittens
Written By: David Stroud - Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society | Issue: August 2024 | Photograph By: Marty Boone
Kitten Season is straining the resources of Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society.
Each summer I can’t help but think about the similarities between Hurricane Season and Kitten Season.
Both types of “storms” give you a little bit of advance notice before they arrive, and in both cases advance preparation is key to surviving their outcome.
But one thing that can’t be predicted with 100 percent accuracy is the intensity of the upcoming season. There are a couple of indicators, though, that suggest we’re in for a rough ride in 2024 on both fronts.
In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued their annual outlook for the Atlantic Hurricane Season. The report forecasts a range of 17 to 25 named storms. Of those, 8 to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes, including 4 to 7 major hurricanes. The number of predicted storms is the “highest NOAA has ever issued for the May outlook,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad in a press conference.
Here on the ground in kitten season, the forecast is just as ominous. At this writing, we currently have 74 cats and kittens in our care at the CHHS Feline Adoption Center. That is the second-most number of kitty cats we have ever had at this time of year. The highest number was experienced in 2019, when by the peak of kitten season in August that year, we were caring for more than 90 felines.
To commemorate kitten season each year, we ask the awesome photographer Marty Boone to do the near-impossible.
With the assistance of staff, we ask Marty to help “herd cats” and capture a memorable picture we call “Basket o’ Kittens.”
The stars of this year’s photograph are (L-R) Garfield, Toto, Dorothy, Fallon and Callen.
If there was ever a time you felt you could open your heart and home for an adorable, adoptable CHHS shelter cat, whether it be for permanent adoption or temporary foster, we sure would appreciate it if that time was now. We’ll even provide the basket.
Please visit our website at chhumanesociety.org to see all the cats and kittens looking for Forever Homes or call us at (828) 743-5752 for more information.
Established in 1987, Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit animal welfare organization located at 200 Gable Drive in Sapphire, one-and-a-half miles east of the Cashiers Ingles in between Cedar Creek Club and Lonesome Valley on Highway 64. Our no-kill shelter is open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Tax-deductible donations to support our lifesaving work can be mailed to: CHHS, P.O. Box 638, Cashiers, NC 28717.
