Home Purrfectly full: Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA at capacity with felines
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Purrfectly full: Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA at capacity with felines

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The Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA is at maximum capacity with felines.

Tuesday was a busy day with 25 animals taken in by the SPCA.

In the last 30 days, the shelter has taken in 243 cats and kittens, and has 371 cats in its care.

The majority of the feline population is kittens in foster care that are too young yet to be adopted.

“Having 23 cats and kittens brought to us in a single day is more than we can handle this time of the year. People find young kittens and want to help them without realizing they may be putting the kittens at risk by separating them from their mothers. Please visit our website or call us before you bring any cats to the shelter,” RHSPCA Executive Director Huck Nawaz said.

The SPCA said that kittens found outside do not need to be brought to a shelter.

Visit the shelter’s website or call 540-434-5270 before bringing them to the shelter.

Free spay or neuter surgeries are available for cats in Rockingham County, and adoption fees have been reduced by 50 percent for all animals to help create space in the shelter: $100 per dog, $25 per cat six months and older and $50 per kittens six months and younger.

“Our greatest need right now is for the public to recognize that we need to keep space open in the shelter for animals truly in need. Healthy cats and kittens should not be brought to us just because they are outside,” Nawaz said.

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.