More than 40 cats and kittens from a single household have now been surrendered to the Lincoln County Humane Society.
Officials say more cats are still expected to be captured from the home throughout the rest of this week.
"At this point another owner is involved. So they have been officially surrendered to us. We have 34 cats and kittens right now that have come from that household", says Liz Friedenfels, Lincoln County Humane Society Director.
But their mission isn't over.
"And we're facing more coming in. We're not sure what the end number would be at this point,” says Friedenfels.
Now 41 cats and kittens have been rescued from the home since Tuesday evening.
Those taken in are healthy with some pregnant and are expected to adjust well over time.
Friedenfels says situations like this are becoming increasingly common.
"We are seeing numbers increase all over and we did actually end up getting the dogs from the situation up in Tomahawk where the family was living in the RV so, I think all Humane Societies are just very busy right now."
Rising vet care costs can make spaying and neutering feel out of reach, allowing small numbers to grow fast.
"We did hear from someone associated with this family, that you know that three years ago they had three kittens and now there's several dozen cats and kittens and some of the females are pregnant. So, it very quickly gets out of hand when there are unfixed animals together,” says Friedenfels.
And she encourages community members to speak up when something doesn't seem right.
"If you have a neighbor....that you're noticing 20, 30 cats in the window and you know that that person lives alone and is pretty isolated, you know sometimes even a wellness check on a person makes a big difference," says Friedenfels.
But amid the challenges, there's been an outpouring of support.
"Our donation tote was full and people are calling to see how they can help. We're just really grateful. That makes these hard days a little easier to get through so thank you to everybody that's helped with that,” says Friedenfels.
They plan to host an adoption special soon and encourage residents to follow them on Facebook for updates.
