Ernie, a shepherd/great Dane mix, jumps up on his cage at the Mower County Humane Society Wednesday. The MCHS is having their annual spaghetti dinner Sunday with silent and live auctions. Money raised goes to the humane society. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Mower County’s puppies and kitties need more attention.

That’s what Mower County Humane Society volunteers say as the upcoming annual MCHS Pasta Dinner and Auction Fundraiser draws near. This annual event, which draws a large amount of people every year, has a few changes in store, and the need has never been greater, according to volunteers.

“Adoptions have been very slow this year,” said Jay Lutz, president of the MCHS. “Both on the cat and dog side.”

MCHS volunteers found the shelter ended the fiscal year with a deficit of about $6,000, according to Lutz. MCHS normally operates on a budget of about $110,000 and while MCHS has been in the red before, it hasn’t been this bad. The deficit is in part due to the slow adoption rates MCHS volunteers have seen this fall and winter. As a result, the shelter’s currently at capacity, with more than 100 cats and about 25 dogs, according to Kelly Rush, an MCHS volunteer.

“Our overhead went up, yet our adoptions went down,” Lutz said.

With the shelter at capacity, there’s a large waiting list of pets that need shelter from the cold. There’s been a lot of cats dumped in the countryside this season, according to Rush. While people may think cats can fend for themselves, house cats have no idea how to hunt and often freeze to death. For those who think farmers can take a few more kitties in, Rush disagrees.

“I’m getting phone calls from farmers who have cats dumped on them, and they’ve already got 10 cats that are spayed, neutered and had shots,” Rush said. “They don’t want 20 cats.”

In addition, many smaller dogs are being dropped off at the shelter, something MCHS volunteers said is strange, as it’s usually the bigger dogs that are abandoned or turned over to the shelter.

“We’re definitely full,” Rush said.

MCHS is a volunteer-run organization that only gets money through donations and adoption fees, and the pasta dinner is the first of the two largest fundraisers MCHS volunteers put on every year, according to Rush.

This year’s dinner takes place from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Holiday Inn’s Grand Ballroom in Austin. There will be two lines this year, unlike last year, which will eliminate long lines experienced last year, according to Lutz. In addition to the annual silent auction, a live auction will take place as well, where residents can bid on merchandise, gift certificates, basket arrangements and other items. Those who are interested in the silent auction must come early, as bidding will end on some items as early as 5 p.m., Lutz said.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $4 for children 8 and under.

All profits will go towards offsetting shelter costs, which MCHS volunteers need to keep up with puppies and kitties pining for a home.

“The influx of animals continues to come,” Lutz said.