Staff at a number of animal rescue societies in Calgary and area is getting concerned about their resources if something isn’t done about the influx of felines at their facilities.

Workers at the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) say they have their hands full caring for somewhere around 300 cats.

The situation has gotten so bad that they are organizing a special adoption event this week to help get many of the cats their forever homes.

Kelsey Scoular, cat program manager at AARCS, says that the main goal of their adoption event is to move a lot of the animals out of their care so that other animals can be cared for.

She says that having so many cats is a big draw on their resources. “Staff come in twice a day to care for the cats and it can take a while to care for 80 of them. We have tons of volunteers that come out and help with that and they are doing a wonderful job but we want to find these guys some homes.”

AARCS is holding their emergency adoption event on July 20 and for cats over six months old, families can choose their own adoption fee, rather than the regular $150.

The event is similar to the one that the Calgary Humane Society held over the past 10 days, where 93 cats found new homes in the city.

Meanwhile, staff at the Meow Foundation says that there is a reason for the crowd of cats this time of year.

Debbie Nelson, director of operations at the facility, says cats usually have litters in March and then June and July.

“It’s just a possibility that with the good weather that we’ve been having that people are seeing more litters and more kittens are surviving because the weather has been good.”

They’ve taken in about 20 percent more cats this year than others as a result.

Nelson says the first and best thing for people to do as cat owners is to spay or neuter their cats to control the population.

“The best outcome for a cat is to go from one loving home to another and it certainly happens that there are certain circumstances in people’s lives where they can’t continue to keep their pet and it’s really a sad situation usually for most people. But the more they can do on their own to reach out to friends, family, colleagues, and help them find a home.”

She also says that another way to help is to offer your home to foster animals in need.

You can visit the official websites for more information on the AAR CS adoption event and the Meow Foundation,

(With files from Stephanie Wiebe)