CAMDEN, Maine — Cats here, cats there, cats everywhere.
Animal rescues throughout Waldo County say they're seeing a large increase in the number of stray and feral cats brought in.
"There's not that chance to pause and catch our breath. We just keep going," Media Manager for Pope Memorial Humane Society in Thomaston Kasey Beilecki said.
"In 2020 we had 148 strays the entire year. This year so far, we already have 146," Director of PAWS Animal Adoption Center Meghan O'Conner said.
Staff at PAWS Animal Adoption Center in Camden say all of their cat rooms are at capacity, with 9-10 in each room.
"We've had to get creative with space. Adding more condos, adding more condos, adding more staff to be able to do enrichment with the cats," O'Conner said.
Officials at Pope Memorial Humane Society say they're just as full, even having to convert their community room into a makeshift housing space.
"It's not a place that's normally meant for animal housing, but we will use every single space we possibly can," Beilecki said.
Beilecki says the lack of spaying and neutering of cats as well as the increasing number of people unable to financially take care of their pets are contributing to the rise.
Local Animal Control Agent and Animal Food Pantry Owner Heidi Blood says the only way to keep this problem from continuing is to educate animal owners and provide resources.
"There are numerous low-cost, sometimes even no-cost programs if people would just reach out."
Resources like low-cost spaying and neutering at PAWS Animal Adoption Center or even vouchers for free spaying and neutering from Pope Memorial Humane Society.
While the number of cats may be going up, staff at Pope Memorial Humane Society say so is the number of people interested in adopting them.
"We're about 100 adoptions ahead of where we were last year at this point, so that's why we're working hard to make sure these animals are ready to go into loving homes," Beilecki said.
If you're interested in adopting one of these cats you visit pawscares.org or popehumane.org to learn more.