INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — IndyHumane is urging animal lovers to consider adopting a cat or dog to relieve some of the burden at its Michigan Road facility.

Marketing Coordinator Liv Barwinska said summer is peak breeding season for cats, and the shelter is overwhelmed with kittens.

“I would say probably about 5, 6 per litter. It depends,” Barwinska said.

There are plenty of dogs available for adoption as well. The high cost of veterinary care caused many people to surrender their pets.

“It’s partially because of COVID-19,” Barkwinska said. “People were working from home they adopted animals like, ‘Yeah, I can definitely take care of them,’ and now a lot of jobs are wanting them back in the office. The culture is changing.”

If adoption doesn’t work, fostering may be an option.

IndyHumane Veterinarian Dr. Liz Rose says pets can housed for as long as a foster parent likes. Food and supplies are provided for free.

“The great thing about adopting is your pet is already spayed or neutered, they’re already up to date on their vaccines,” Rose said. “They are already dewormed. they’re already microchipped. We’ve taken a lot of that potential burden off the pet owners.”

It also buys IndyHumane some time, especially if a pet is too young to be spayed or neutered. It allows the staff at IndyHumane to house other animals that can be fixed and immunized.

“That’s the goal,” Rose said. “It’s to get them in and out as quickly as possible and reduce the length of stay. That way, they’re not experiencing the stresses that we talked about and also not be exposed to infectious diseases.”

Rose recommends you make sure a new pet would get along with other pets and humans in your household. She said buying pet insurance can significantly reduce your vet bills.