CARY - For Jeanne Diaz, the cat problem ended last month. She surrendered 65 kitties to police, saying that she didn't have enough hands to pet them all, or enough money to get them fixed. The Cary woman kept four favorites, one male and three females, which have since been sterilized.

But her cat problem has now become someone else's. The Cary animal rescue group that took in the cats has found itself short on space and cash. "My wife hasn't had a day off since they came in," said Mike Fox, co-owner of Cat Angels Pet Adoptions. "When you have to give blood tests to 36 cats, pretty soon your back is sore and your eyes get blurry."

Cat Angels, a nonprofit group run by Fox and his wife Deborah since 2006, took in all the healthy cats. About half were put down by Cary Animal Control.

It was the second-biggest rescue the group has ever done. And it couldn't have come at a worse time. Donations are down 20 percent this year, and the group already had over 60 cats at their cramped facility. Neighboring cat shelters were at capacity.

So the Foxes piled cages into storage areas and restrooms. They called on an army of volunteers, blasted e-mail messages, and tried to make do with what they had.

It's a labor of love for the rescue group, but also a cold numbers game when it comes to caring for them all.

It cost about $170 per cat, to pay for neuters, spays, vaccines, wormings, antibiotics, microchips and flea treatments, Fox said. All told, the Diaz cats set the group back by more than $6,000 -- 81 percent of the group's monthly operating budget.

It could have been thousands more: Fox said four of Diaz's cats were pregnant, potentially adding 20 more kittens. Each litter averages five babies.

Cat Angels gets three-quarters of its income from fundraisers and donations. The remainder comes from a $115 per cat adoption fee. The group has a monthly garage sale and relies on the generosity of other cat lovers to pay the bills. It's the group's policy never to euthanize a healthy cat, so once the group takes one on, it's their responsibility from intake to final home.

Because of the Diaz cats, the volunteers are pulling long shifts. They're feeding, cleaning and medicating the cats up to twice a day.

"As time goes by, they get colds, need antibiotics," Fox said. "But we're making sure it doesn't cheat the other cats here, because they're equally as important."

Summer is a particularly difficult season because the warmer months are ideal mating weather. And cats are prolific breeders -- a female can have several litters in a year, each one gestating for just two months. They can start all over again while they're nursing.

But 65 cats? "It can easily happen in a year," Fox said. Couple that with summer being a down time for adoptions, with many folks on vacation. Adoptions don't typically start picking up until fall..

Media coverage of the Diaz case has sparked a lot of support. Foster homes opened up. Safe Haven for Cats donated supplies. And almost $5,000 in donations have filtered in so far.

The SPCA of Wake County also provided a low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic for Diaz's three females. SNAP-NC, a mobile veterinarian, fixed the rest of the cats on Aug. 25. Mondy Lamb, spokeswoman for the SPCA, said the organization's $30- to $35 fees are available to anyone needing a low-cost alternative to fix their pets.

So far, 10 of the Diaz cats have been chosen for new homes. Fox has to find homes for at least 25 more to make room for any additional rescues. One thing working in his favor: all the cats are friendly.

"None of them are feral," he said. "When cats come out of a hoarder situation, they're usually under-nourished and have behavioral problems."

Most are females, he noted, about one to two years old. He's hopeful that people will continue to volunteer and donate until each and every one of them is happy and healthy, in their new homes.

"The first batch," he said, "is going home Saturday morning."

For more information, go to www.catangelsnc.org.