Photo by Pet Resource Center

Inky The Cat
Northeast News Mascot

Hello fellow feline friends! Inky here — the unofficial, official mascot of Northeast News. I have come out of my cozy hideaway to share with you some helpful tips and tricks from Pet Resource Center of Kansas City (1116 E. 59th St) for navigating kitten season. 

Pet Resource Center began providing services in 2002 as a non-profit, spay and neuter clinic. However, after 18 years — and extending its scope to provide a broader range of services — Spay and Neuter Kansas City altered its title to Pet Resource Center of Kansas City in 2020. 

These services include — but are not limited to — spay and neuter, vaccinations, supplying food and shelter for the community’s furry friends and urgent care, among others. 

Last year, Pet Resource Center saw a total of 11,695 patients — at least half of which included cats, according to Pet Resource Center Marketing Specialist, Madison Brown. 

Within the Northeast — particularly throughout Roberts Street — this city faces an epidemic referred to as community or neighborhood cats. 

During kitten season, which occurs annually throughout spring and summer months, an abundance of stray cats populate communities — including the Northeast. 

With no limit to the number of animals it tends to at a time, Brown said this is the Pet Resource Center’s busiest time of year. This team is currently working to treat 10 neighborhood cats brought in with community traps. 

To offer support and appreciation for community members caring for neighborhood pets, this resource center offers weekly “Ear Tippin’ Tuesdays” and “Wildcat Wednesdays.” 

This service — catered toward community cats — allows the public to bring singular, live, humane-trapped feral cats into its facility for care. With a price tag of $75 per cat, the resource center will spay/neuter, ear tip, Green-line tattoo, provide a pain injection and offer applicable vaccinations including rabies and FVRCP. For those bringing in three or more cats, these services will cost $35 per cat.

For those interested in Tuesday and Wednesday exclusives, community cat drop-off begins at 7:30 a.m., and pick-up is required same-day by 4 p.m. A $25 deposit is required, which will go toward surgery costs. 

As the center requires neighborhood felines to arrive in a live, humane trap, these traps are available through Pet Resource Center with a $10 non-refundable deposit. For more information on these rentals and services, visit its website: https://prckc.org/community-cats/#branch.

In addition to services, the center offers helpful advice for combating this rampant epoch and recommendations as the community works to care for these neighborhood companions.