KALAMAZOO, MI -- An animal services officer found 33 cats in three cages and brought them into the county’s new shelter overnight on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

When the Kalamazoo County Animal Services and Enforcement officer arrived at the scene, 17 of the cats were inside one crate, according to a post on the Kalamazoo Humane Society website.

The cats were taken to the Humane Society’s facility off South Sprinkle Road to get medical exams and were found to be healthy with no signs of aggression, Kalamazoo County Animal Services Director Steve Lawrence said.

Ten of the cats have already been spayed or neutered, and are being held in the county’s new $4.8 million facility that opened last month, ready to be adopted.

There were 31 adult cats and two young kittens seized by the officer. The cats are scared and shy but overall are healthy, Lawrence said.

“The owner actually took good care of the cats,” he said. “I think it’s a situation where she couldn’t afford to get the cats fixed and then they just kept having babies. She kept holding onto them until all the babies were grown.”

The case is still being investigating, Lawrence said.

The new county shelter’s conference room will also be used for educational programs on how to socialize and train pets. Learning these skills could also help curb the number of residents surrendering animals they cannot care for, Lawrence said.

The Kalamazoo Humane Society’s spay and neuter program provides affordable surgeries for cats and dogs. Prices can be found at kazoohumane.org/spayneuter. Kalamazoo Humane Society has performed more than 75,000 procedures since 2002.

The Human Society’s new 11,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed in August 2020.