HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County’s Pet Resource Center will hold a summer adoption party Saturday, June 25 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. in an attempt to reduce unprecedented crowding at the shelter.

The shelter is above its capacity for dogs and especially cats. The Pet Resource Center has been over 500 percent capacity for cats for more than a week and is currently at more than 130 percent of capacity for dogs.

The shelter will waive all adoption fees and the adoption party will include sprinklers, splash pads and shaved-ice treats. A OneBlood truck will allow residents a convenient option to donate blood.

Most of the increase in the shelter population involves kittens, scores of which have been arriving at the shelter each week. Shelter officials remind residents that if the mother is around, young kittens should be left alone so their mother can care for them. If the mother is not immediately seen, don’t assume she has abandoned the kittens. Moms leave kittens at times to search for food and water and will hide nearby if she hears or sees people. 

The shelter’s Wait Until 8 program provides supplies and instructions to help residents become an at-home caregiver for stray and neonatal kittens until 8 weeks of age, when they can then take the kittens to the shelter for adoption.

The Pet Resource Center also has an active program for residents to become pet foster parents. Locals can foster a pet for as little as two weeks, freeing up shelter space and giving the shelter helpful information about the pet.