Cat population at Riverside County shelters passes capacity for the first time this year

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (KESQ) – Riverside County Department of Animal Services is calling out for immediate help from fosters and adopters as they continue to push capacity numbers to the highest levels all year. 

RCDAS announced on Tuesday they are operating at 125% capacity for cats with a population of over 300 cats in their care, bringing numbers for this group higher than they have been all year. 

The organization noted that they had not reached capacity for cats prior to this week, with over 80 cats being added in just this month, especially in the Coachella Valley location. 

RCDAS also revealed they are currently at 230% capacity for dogs with over more that 1,000 dogs in their care, continuing to show that levels of unhoused animals are still on the rise. 

Officials say the Fourth of July holiday marks the busiest time of year for lost dogs entering shelters all across the country. This, along with wildfire season that is already affecting parts of the county, makes the situation more urgent than before.

As this weekend approaches, RCDAS says community support and engagement in housing the expected influx of pets is needed now more than ever. 

They say without adopters and fosters they will not have the space at their facilities to safely and humanely house these animals and are in need of immediate help.

Community members can also show their support for these pets by donating to the RCDAS disaster relief fund to help with rescue, sheltering, and treatments of animals or visit https://rcdas.org/support/donate to give a donation directly online. 

For more information on fostering or adopting, visit www.rcdas.org.