Beatrice Humane Society sees uptick in lost pets, feral cats in summer months

BEATRICE, Neb. - It’s one of the busiest times of the year for Carlee Fiddes and her staff at the Beatrice Humane Society.

“Summer is where we see the biggest uptick in cat population, because thats’s when they’re doing the most of their breeding,” Fiddes said. “Cat breeding is from two weeks after the winter solstice to sometimes into December so we are right in the thick of it right now.”

Fiddes is the Executive Director for humane society and has worked alongside her staff to reduce the number of feral cats in southeast Nebraska. She says summer is also the time f the year when they take in the most intense cases of feral cats because of health related issues due to the heat.

This past weekend, the humane society and crews from around the region were in Wymore to address the towns feral cat population.

“We brought together teams from Omaha, Lincoln, Hooper, Kansas State University and local veterinarians all to get spay’s and neuter’s done in Wymore,” Fiddes said. “We had trappers trapping for three days before the event and they caught over 250 cats and kittens.”

Crews then conducted surgeries on cats big enough and brought smaller cats and kittens to the low cost spay/neuter clinic in Beatrice. Fiddes says those animals will be socialized for adoption.

But it’s not only feral cats that rise in the summer - it’s lost pets too. Fiddes recommends microchipping.

“It’s no worse for them then when us humans get our blood drawn,” Fiddes said. “You’re like ‘Ouch that hurts’, but then it goes away and it’s something that can save their life.”