Too Many Kittens? Feral Cat Workshop Offered In Hickory Hills

HICKORY HILLS, IL — During the notorious kitten season that fills animal shelters to capacity in the early spring and summer before winding down in October, outdoor feral cats are apparently still out there breeding. Experts from Triple R Pets will be presenting their last trap/neuter/spay workshop this Saturday, Nov. 16, The workshop runs from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Hickory Hills Community Center.

According to the Shelter Animals Count database, 1,580,000 of the 3,300,000 cats entering rescue organizations in 2023 were under five months old. Kitten season starts with a trickle in early spring and ends in a tsunami of kittens by summer.

“This year kittens are still being born,” said Collette Walker, a volunteer with Triple R. “Breeding is still going on and no one knows why.”

Cat breeding cycles revolve around seasonal sunlight and starts when days start getting longer in spring.

“It could also be related to climate change but it’s controversial,” Walker said.

The last workshop is being held in Hickory Hills at the request of Ald. Patrick Purtill, after receiving numerous complaints from residents about the feral cat population explosion. Area cat lovers are invited to a presentation that will discuss how to humanely stop the reproduction of unwanted kittens that fill local animal shelters.

“Shelters are in crisis,” Walker said. “Many shelters are no longer accepting kittens and are surviving with fosters.”

Triple R representatives will also discuss TNR and will go over trapping, transporting and helping feral and stray cats recover after spaying or neutering.

“It’s a good program. We do not go out ourselves because we don’t have enough volunteers but we train the public to do TNR themselves,” Walker said. “Usually we get contacted by a caretaker who is feeding ferals.”

Cats are also being dumped in forest preserves or people move away leaving them behind.

“One dumped cat showed up on my security camera,” Walker said, who has adopted five former ferals. “A beautiful calico. I have shelters outside for them. Animal shelters are closed and are not taking in cats.”

“The best we can do is provide outdoor shelters,” she added.

Visit Triple R for more information about the TNR program. Please note that this is NOT an adoption event.