Charleston Animal Society facing ‘a crisis’ after 34 cats found in one hotel room
The Charleston Animal Society was already overwhelmed by the number of animals in its care. Then, Wednesday happened.
The animal shelter said that was the day a family surrendered 34 cats that were all living in a single North Charleston hotel room.
But the need didn’t stop there. Later that day, 28 kittens were found outdoors and also brought to the shelter for care.
On Wednesday, 62 animals arrived at the animal society. It’s a staggering number that only added to a shelter already exceeding its capacity.
“We’re seeing this big spike in kittens coming in every day. And then, in this other case, the family reached out to us for help,” said Aldwin Roman, the vice president of operations and strategy at the Charleston Animal Society.
The clutter of cats, Roman said, were “very well cared for” by the family despite being in such tight quarters. The family recognized that they could no longer provide the quality of care to so many cats by themselves.
“They were heartbroken and this was the latest in a string of setbacks the family has faced due to COVID-19,” Roman said. “They’ve lost jobs, their home and now their pets.”
However, Roman confirmed three of the cats will be allowed to remain with the family after the shelter’s medical team was able to vaccinate the cats and then spay or neuter them.
“But the truth is we never know when we’re going to get a call like that,” he said in an interview. “We could get another call tomorrow, and we have to help.”
Roman called it “a perfect storm of circumstances” that hit the organization all at once. Joe Elmore, the president and CEO of the animal society, used another word to describe it when he addressed the public in a Facebook video on Thursday.
“We are in a crisis at Charleston Animal Society,” Elmore said.
On Thursday, the Charleston Animal Society began asking the public to consider becoming a foster for a few weeks to help the shelter care for the growing number of animals flooding its system.
In a Facebook post, the animal society wrote that it has the capacity to house 250 cats and dogs comfortably. But right now, there are 800 dogs and cats in their system of care.
In his arms, he cradled an orange tabby kitten who had arrived at the shelter Wednesday. The kitten had a yellow cast wrapped around his right paw and leg.
“Over 400 of these animals are these adorable little kittens, like this little boy I have here who came in yesterday with a smashed leg. But we’re going to save him, like we do with all of the animals,” Elmore said in his plea for fosters.
This spring, the Charleston Animal Society said it has been flooded with kittens.
In 2020, the animal society reported a kitten intake of 1,305 for the year. As of mid-May, the society reported taking in more than 600 so far.
Along with the kittens, there are also 10 dogs in need of foster homes through the end of June.
The animal society provides fosters with the resources they need to care of the animals.
“Our foster family network is a key resource that allows our lifesaving work to continue outside the walls of the shelter,” said Jodi Osborne, who is the society’s foster coordinator. “Right now, we have 28 kittens that need foster families immediately and more are coming in every hour.”
The need is so great that Roman said he’s telling people to come straight to the animal society directly if they are interested in fostering.
“Don’t call. Don’t email. Just come on down,” he said. “We need the community’s support to help these animals. We can’t do it alone.”
