Overflowing cages at Multnomah County Animal Services.jpg

Multnomah County's animal shelter in Troutdale is overcapacity with cats.

(Multnomah County Animal Services)

Cats are overflowing at Multnomah County's shelter in Troutdale, with kennels stacked in hallways and tucked into offices as administrators scramble to find them homes.

It's peak kitten season, and the shelter is overcapacity.

"It's urgent," said Mike Oswald, director of the shelter. "We're seeing 30 to 40 cats a day from the public."

Many adults cats are up for adoption.

The shelter is equipped to handle less than 100 felines. It had 112 Wednesday morning, Oswald said. Many of the kittens being brought in have no mothers, are just a few weeks old and need to be bottle fed until they're big enough to be adopted out.

The shelter has about 50 foster households for felines. Oswald said it could use double that.

"We need more foster parents," Oswald said. "We need more volunteers. We need more people to choose to adopt an animal from here."

The county is on pace to take in or surpass the numbers last year when it accepted 900 kittens from the public and was also forced to appeal for help.

The shelter, which cannot refuse any animals, works with other facilities in the area to save all healthy and treatable animals in an effort to stem euthanasia. Normally, they shuttle dogs and cats amongst themselves but right now all of the shelters, from the Humane Society for Southwest Washington to the Cat Adoption Team in Sherwood, are full of felines, Oswald said.

Some businesses in Portland, including Pets on Broadway, Sellwood Dog Supply and Cat Annex, Natural Pet Food Solutions in Sellwood, Meow House and Beauty for the Beast in North Portland, are even pitching in by offering cats for adoption.

Though the shelter is located in Troutdale, at 1700 W. Historic Columbia River Highway, most of the felines come from Portland, Oswald said.

He urged the public to check with neighbors or the county's lost and found section before bringing in a stray.

"If you find a strange cat in your neighborhood, don't bring it it," he said. "It probably lives in the neighborhood."

The county helps foster households, providing free medical care, kitten formula and supplies and other support. Foster parents have to fill out an application and are screened to ensure they can provide proper care.

As for adoptions, most of the felines waiting for a home are adults. The $12 adoption fee includes a license, microchip, shots and spaying or neutering. Kittens, which need to weigh about 2 lbs. and be about 12 weeks old before they can be adopted, cost $100 to take home.

-- Lynne Terry