The Goshen Humane Society has put adoptions on hold due to a contagious virus that killed 12 kittens and two cats.

Manager Elijah Howe says distemper spread through the shelter. He says the affected kittens were too young to be vaccinated at the time they were exposed to the virus. Howe says adoptions are on hold to prevent potentially exposed animals from getting adopted and spreading distemper to other pets. The shelter is also currently not accepting any strays.

The dogs at the shelter are not at risk of catching the deadly strain of the virus. However, they can get strains of distemper. They hope to have the shelter back open by the beginning of September.

The Humane Society of Walden has had multiple bouts of feline distemper. In April, the shelter lost 30 kittens to the virus. The shelter is building a new ward just for cats where they can quarantine sick animals and hopefully stop the spread of the virus.