Intake freezes are being put up by humane societies across the province, with cats and dogs filling up shelters.

Those are put into place when there is no room available for any more animals, and shelters will often have to turn away animals and put them back out onto the street.

The effects are being felt in shelters all over Saskatchewan, that are dealing with similar scenarios.

 Dana Haukaas, the Executive Director of the Moose Jaw Humane Society, says that the best way to help bring the numbers headed into shelters down is to make sure that pets have been spayed or neutered.

"Humane societies across the province have been having this problem, and it is impossible for us to adopt our way out of this crisis. The most important thing is if you do get a kitten or already have an adult cat that's not fixed, the best way to help with the number of unwanted cats in any community is to spay and neuter your cat."

Besides cats, dogs also should be spayed and neutered, as those are reaching their peak capacity in many shelters.

Weyburn Humane Society Shelter Manager Colleen Morrice details another possible explanation as to why the numbers have exploded so suddenly.

"I think through the pandemic and stuff, people were home more so they took on dogs, and then they wanted their children to experience the birthing of animals, not realizing how hard it is to give up or rehome those animals once they are born."

Another pandemic-related effect is people being unprepared for the time commitments that owning a pet takes - they may have had plenty of time to take care of the pet while they were at home during the pandemic, but once work resumed those pets wouldn't work at home.

With so many animals coming in, there'll be more work than ever for those in shelters.

Supervisor Alissa McKinna from the Estevan Humane Society says that help is needed now more than ever.

"Support for your local rescues is needed more than ever right now honestly, so volunteering, fostering, spreading the word, and adoptions are always helpful."

Information on how to adopt, spay, or neuter a pet is available on your local humane society's website.