There are few things cuter than a couple of fuzzy little felines running, jumping and pouncing on everything in sight — except maybe when they collapse onto your lap, purring up a storm before falling swiftly asleep. I might even go so far as to say I think kittens are slightly cuter than puppies — blasphemy to some, I know.
Summer means kitten season at Marin Humane and at animal shelters across the country. According to a recent article in USA Today, last year, roughly 1.6 million of the 3.3 million cats entering shelters were under 5 months old, according to Shelter Animals Count, a national database for animal shelter statistics.
“Despite representing nearly half of all feline intakes, kittens remain one of the most vulnerable populations in animal shelters and rescues, as they are fragile and highly susceptible to illness,” the article said.
Currently, Marin Humane has more than 178 kittens in its care, both at our Novato campus and in loving foster homes.
“We’ve had upwards of 100 kittens at one time,” says Keri Fennell, Marin Humane’s vice president of shelter operations. “Some are brought in by those who hadn’t gotten their cats spayed in time and had ‘surprise kittens.'”
And some are found as strays, and many are transferred in from overcrowded shelters throughout the state.
A critical aspect in caring for kittens is having a robust foster program. Since kittens are more susceptible to illness and need lots of socialization, the shelter environment isn’t ideal. Fosters are needed for newborns without moms and momma cats and their nursing kittens, as well as “singletons,” single kittens that need socialization. All supplies and plenty of guidance are provided to our foster families.
Newborn up to 4-week-old kittens without their moms — referred to as neonates — are the most vulnerable, and providing the right care for them is critical. Neonates require round-the-clock bottle feeding, warmth, socialization with people and other important care. Not surprising, it’s harder to find foster families willing to take on this challenge but the ones who do find it highly rewarding.
Fostering a mother cat and her kittens is actually quite easy as mom does all the work, however, they need a calm, quiet space.
I enjoy fostering singletons because my two adult cats enjoy playing with and grooming the kitten, and the little one, in turn, learns how to be a cat. The fact that my home can be busy with people, kids, a dog, etc., are also key to socializing a young kitty to be comfortable around people and pets. Note that many adult cats do not enjoy having kittens around and careful introductions are always critical.
Sadly, it was not too long ago that kittens were routinely euthanized in shelters across the country, simply because there wasn’t enough space for them. Thankfully, with the increase in spay/neuter surgeries, the number of unwanted kittens has gone down but there are still many needing homes.
Kittens adopted from Marin Humane have already been spayed or neutered, vaccinated and are in good health. New to the world of kittens? Find free behavior information at marinhumane.org/oh-behave.
Once you bring your new kitten (or kittens) home, get ready for some serious playtime, lots of snuggles and, if you keep them indoors, as we strongly encourage, many years of love.
Lisa Bloch is the director of marketing and communications for Marin Humane, which contributes Tails of Marin articles and welcomes animal-related questions and stories about the people and animals in our community. Go to marinhumane.org, find us on social media @marinhumane, or email lbloch@marinhumane.org
