Euthanasia rates of cats and kittens are on the rise at L.A. city animal shelters

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Set us as preferred Los Angeles animal shelters recorded a sharp increase in euthanizations of cats and kittens through the first six months of the year, which officials attribute in part to a rise in animals brought to the shelters.Nearly 900 kittens were euthanized from January through June, up from about 600 the first six months of last year, for a 43% increase.

Euthanasia of cats — those more than 8 weeks old — saw a 32% increase compared with the same time last year with 1,142 killed through June.Euthanasia of dogs, by comparison, increased by 2%.Gabrielle Amster, general manager of L.A.

Animal Services, said much of the increase was fueled by an influx of kittens into the system.Kitten intake rose 30% in April compared with the same month last year, according to the department’s Woof Stats, and euthanasia increased by 177% in April compared with the same month a year earlier.“When that many vulnerable animals arrive before our foster network has fully mobilized, the gap between what a shelter can provide and what neonatal kittens need to survive becomes devastating,” Amster said.Through June, 5,215 kittens passed through Animal Services’ doors, compared with 4,823 in the same period last year.

Animal activists like Christi Metropole of Stray Cat Alliance say city funding for spay and neuter vouchers hasn’t kept up with demand from people who want their pets sterilized, as well as from those who trap feral cats to keep stray populations low.The value of free spay and neuter vouchers for pets increased last year from $70 to $120 for cats but the budget allocated for them did not, so fewer vouchers were issued overall.The new city budget, which took effect July 1, includes a $1-million increase in the spay and neuter budget, bringing the total to $6.5 million for animal sterilizations.Metropole and Lisa...