Calling it “one of the largest single intakes of felines in recent years,” the Calgary Humane Society says it has taken in 110 cats and kittens from a single residence in the city.

The humane society said the cats were willingly surrendered in early December “after a concerned citizen came forward with the specific address and the volume of cats living in the home.”

“At first our team was expecting maybe around 50 or 60 cats and over the course of a few days, we pulled 110 out of the house,” said spokesperson Anna-Lee Fitzsimmons.

All the cats “are in relatively good health, which is unique for a case like this,” added Fitzsimmons, and “while some have already been adopted out, a lot of them were pregnant or nursing kittens or were too young to move to adoptions.”

The surrender of so many cats at once is also putting a huge strain on the humane society’s resources.

“We were already kind of operating at capacity and now you had 110 more cats into, you know, the 300 we already had and we are bursting at the seams,” said Fitzsimmons.

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The Humane Society is making a public plea for donations to help cover the cost of medical care and supplies needed to care for the animals, including spay and neuter surgeries.

It’s also looking for foster homes and for people willing to adopt a cat at a discounted fee.

“Our priority is to get these cats back to a healthy state as quickly as possible and into foster homes or adopted homes before the holidays,” said Fitzsimmons.

“While our team is well-equipped for situations like this, the sheer volume of animals requires additional resources and community support.”

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More information on animal adoptions, spay and neuter clinics, and other services, such as a food bank program and medical care for pets owned by seniors on a fixed income, is available on the society’s website at www.calgaryhumane.ca.

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News of the surrender also comes a day after Councilor Courtney Walcott put forward a motion at Calgary city council to ban the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in retails stores, in a effort to reduce the number of shelters and kennels operating in unsafe conditions, promote responsible adoption and reduce the number of animals being surrendered to animal shelters.

The Calgary Humane Society has also thrown its support behind the idea.