Deluge of cute kittens could be an unexpected effect of global warming

By Alyse Knorr Scripps Howard News Service Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008 12:11 a.m. MDT Global warming and kittens. While it may seem hard to see the connection between the two — a climate phenomenon that melts glaciers and acidifies oceans, and cuddly, 4-ounce balls of fur — experts say there could be one. Each spring, the onset of warm weather and longer days drives female cats into heat, resulting in a few months of booming kitten populations known as "kitten season." "The brain receives instructions to produce a hormone that basically initiates the heat cycle in a cat," said Nancy Peterson, feral cat program manager of the Humane Society of the United States, "and those instructions are affected by the length of day and usually the rising temperatures of spring." Peterson said kitten season generally starts in March... [read full story]