06/11/2026
Every year, rescuers watch the same heartbreaking cycle unfold.
A litter of kittens is born. They are adorable, innocent, and quickly find homes through social media, classified ads, or word of mouth. People are happy to help. The kittens are loved.
But what many people don’t realize is that those few kittens are often the beginning of a much bigger problem.
Across our communities, volunteers, veterinarians, and rescue organizations spend countless hours trying to reduce pet overpopulation through spay and neuter programs. We trap cats, coordinate appointments, transport animals, complete paperwork, fundraise, foster, and support clinics. Hundreds upon hundreds of cats are altered every year because people are working tirelessly to prevent suffering before it begins.
We do this because we care deeply about animals and want to create a future where fewer cats are born only to face hardship, illness, abandonment, or life on the streets.
Yet despite all of that work, the cycle continues every time an unspayed cat has a litter.
One litter becomes several.
Several become dozens.
Dozens become hundreds.
Because while one person may think, “It’s only one cat,” there are hundreds of other people making that same decision at the same time.
The result is an endless stream of kittens entering communities that are already struggling to keep up.
Every kitten born into an overwhelmed system means more competition for homes, more animals left unaltered, more disease, more injuries, and ultimately more suffering. Rescuers receive heartbreaking calls every day about cats struggling through pregnancy, kittens abandoned after birth, animals hit by cars, infected wounds, upper respiratory infections, parasites, starvation, and countless other tragedies that could have been prevented.
One of the biggest contributors to this cycle?
The continual flow of unaltered kittens being given away without a plan to ensure they will be spayed or neutered.
Here in Hawaiʻi, the stakes are even higher.
Our islands are home to one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world. Native birds and wildlife evolved in isolation and are especially vulnerable to introduced predators and environmental pressures. Unmanaged cat populations impact not only animal welfare but also the delicate balance of our natural environment.
As humans, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of both the animals in our care and the land we share.
We cannot expect balance to happen on its own.
We must create it.
During the height of kitten season which usually means June through September (but with our climate that’s year round) when rescues and shelters are already overflowing - foster homes are stretched beyond capacity, volunteers are exhausted. Resources are limited. Every day, rescuers are forced to watch more kittens enter the cycle while knowing there are already countless cats waiting for homes.
It is heartbreaking because we know what often comes next.
The solution is not complicated, but it requires all of us.
Spay and neuter your pets.
Prevent accidental litters.
Support responsible pet ownership.
Be part of protecting both our animals and Hawaiʻi’s fragile ecosystem.
In the recent years several amazing organizations were created on the Big Island, adding to the already existing bad ass ones. There is just not a good enough excuse any longer, some of these clinics are FREE or low cost!!!!
There is no way out of this crisis unless we work together.
The animals are counting on us. Our communities are counting on us. And our islands are counting on us. ❤️🙏🐾🌺
All these kitties featured, are in our care, and will be altered.
