Did You Know June Is Adopt-A-Cat Month!

June is a special month for cats. This month, the American Humane Association and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals celebrate Adopt-A-Cat Month and Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month, respectively!

- Stef Dela Cruz, MD

These are just two of the many animal welfare organizations that chose June as their cat adoption month. But of all months, why pick June?

THE “HEAT” IN HEAT CYCLES

The answer lies in a cat’s reproductive cycle. In fact, the term “heat cycle” takes on a different meaning when considering the relationship between climate and feline physiology.

The farther away you live from the equator, the more you’ll notice that cats are seasonal breeders: Unlike their canine counterparts, cats go into heat based on how much sunlight there is during the day.

Daytime is longer during summer than in winter. Most cats don’t go into heat during the winter months, a period in a cat’s reproductive cycle called anestrus, according to a 2015 article by Amanda Petersen for the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

That is probably due to feline instincts to preserve their kind: It’s harder for kittens to survive in cold climates, as reported in a 2013 article by Signe and Marke Munkevics, veterinarian and animal behaviorist, respectively.

During warmer months of the year, on the other hand, female cats undergo several estrous cycles, during which they can get pregnant. This leads to an overwhelming increase in the number of kittens that end up in shelters, hence the so-called ‘kitten season’.

June marks the start of summer, and it’s also smack in the middle of kitten season which, according to the Humane Society of the United States, lasts from spring to fall.