Is drought behind uptick in abandoned kittens?

Two of the many kittens at the Oakland Animal Shelter on Monday, May 4, 2015. Two of the many kittens at the Oakland Animal Shelter on Monday, May 4, 2015. Photo: Amy Osborne, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Amy Osborne, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Is drought behind uptick in abandoned kittens? 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

The California drought has had a pronounced effect on the animal kingdom — salmon are getting stuck up dry riverbeds, bears are wandering farther in search of food and water, and newts have stayed in hibernation longer, perhaps because it’s not wet enough to come out.

Now, there may be another critter to add to the list of the drought-afflicted: kittens.

Animal shelter officials in Oakland made a public plea for donations Monday after announcing at a news conference that warm, dry weather had put love in the air in the East Bay, at least in the feline world. Cats appear to be mating more — and producing more offspring than they can care for.

“We get a lot of kittens every year, but it has started early this year,” said Rebecca Katz, director of Oakland Animal Services, as a quartet of month-old cats that had been lost or abandoned joined her in front of television cameras.

The agency estimates that 30 percent more newborns than usual have been dropped off at its Fruitvale shelter, mostly by concerned neighbors who come across a litter with no mother cat watching over her young.

The city-operated shelter has a limited amount of space and supplies, officials said, so they’re asking for money or volunteers to help support the more than 80 parentless kittens that have come in this year.

While scientists in California have begun documenting changes to wildlife populations because of the drought, little has been said about domestic animals.

Jason Holley, supervising wildlife biologist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said Monday that connecting the drought to the behavior of animals is not so easy — and sometimes misguided.

“There might be some correlation there, but if the drought is the cause, who knows,” Holley said.

In Oakland, cats could very well be friskier and having more babies, he said, but that’s not typical behavior of their counterparts in the wild when encountering stress, like in a drought.

In the natural world, Holley explained, there are often checks and balances to achieve a sustainable population. Bears, for example, will delay or even abort pregnancy when conditions are tough, while young raptors often compete among themselves to achieve appropriate numbers.

While bears and raptors may have had to adjust their routines during this drought, neither animal has been imperiled by it, Holley said.

The real concern is with smaller mammals, reptiles and amphibians that aren’t as mobile and can’t travel to areas where there’s more water, food or suitable habitat.

The Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, for example, with its short legs and affinity for deep ponds, may face trouble if the drought worsens, Holley said.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander

Want to help?

To make a donation or volunteer for Oakland Animals Services, visit www.oaklandanimalservices.org or www.petfoodexpress.com.