Ah, kitten season. So many kittens—too many kittens—could there be such a thing?
Unfortunately, for shelters, the answer is yes. Kitten season is often their most overwhelming time of year.
When is kitten season?
Cat mating season is approximately January through February; about 2 months later, kittens are born. Each mother cat typically bears 3-5 kittens starting in spring and peaking in late spring/early summer—this is known as kitten season.
During this time, shelters across the country receive thousands of pregnant cats and kittens that max out their space, staff, and budgets. Each cat or kitten that gets taken in costs a shelter $150+—and that’s if the feline in question isn’t sick.
So, how can you help during kitten season? Here are some tips on how you can help shelters when they need it most.
Donate
Many rescues create Amazon wish lists to make it easy for individuals to contribute exactly what the shelter needs. On many of these lists are items such as cat food, bedding, litter, medicines, carriers, collars, toys, and treats.
Kitten food, both wet and dry, is always needed because most food donations are for adult cats.
Wish lists save the shelter the work of ordering and make it easy for you to gift the shelter something useful; a true win-win. To find out if your local (or not-so-local) shelter has a wish list, check its website.
Most shelter websites also list ways to donate funds, which may include platforms such as:
- PayPal
- Venmo
- Google Pay
- CashApp
- Pledge
- Patreon
Foster
If you are knowledgeable about cats, consider fostering a pregnant mother cat or kittens. Contact your local shelter to see if they need help and tell them your level of experience.
Fostering pregnant cats
Fostering a mother cat relieves the shelter of a huge burden. Cats have a 67-day gestation, which means a 2-3 month obligation to care for the family. As you can imagine, this is quite a bit more involved than an adult rescue.
Fostering infant kittens
Many shelters do not have the resources to care for kittens who are only 2-3 weeks old. Orphaned kittens must be bottle-fed every few hours and even kittens over 3 weeks old need to be placed in special areas while their immune systems get stronger. Mothers and babies have to be properly quarantined until the kittens are old enough to be vaccinated.
If you are interested in caring for infant kittens, ask your local shelter if they offer neonate care training. Unfortunately, if shelters can't find foster placements or neonate care immediately, the kittens may not be able to survive.
Fostering older kittens
If you’d like to help but aren’t comfortable with caring for newborn kittens, shelters are also in need of fosters for older kittens. You’ll likely be helping kittens get comfortable with using the litter box, overseeing their first set of vaccinations, and ensuring they get spayed or neutered once they weigh 2 pounds.
Adopt
Have you been considering adding a feline to your household? Adopting a cat during kitten season helps the shelter create more space to care for another homeless kitten or cat. On average, adoption fees for shelter cats range from $50 to $200.
If your home is full, talk to your friends and family to see who might be able to adopt a new friend.
Volunteer
Shelters need all the help they can get during kitten season. If you have free time, volunteer several hours or one day per week to your local shelter. Cat shelters typically need volunteers to help with the following:
- Socializing (petting, cuddling, playing, or simply sitting with a cat)
- Cleaning litter boxes, cages, living areas, etc.
- Grooming
- Topping off food, water, and litter
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)
If your neighborhood has feral cats, you can make a huge impact with humane population control—thus reducing the number of kittens entering shelters every spring. This practice is known as Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).
- Trap: Use a humane box trap or drop trap to bait a feral cat. Note: If the tip of the cat’s ear has been removed, that means they’ve already been spayed or neutered.
- Neuter/Spay: Coordinate drop-off with a vet or clinic (before trapping) that is experienced with spaying and neutering feral cats, including females that are in heat or pregnant.
- Return: Following the operation, leave the cat in their covered trap overnight in a climate-controlled and quiet area. Then return the cat to the same location where you trapped them.
Learn more about how to practice TNR.
Spay or neuter your cats (and keep them indoors)
Once a female cat reaches approximately 5 months of age, her heat cycles begin and she can become pregnant. Each litter can produce several kittens, which quickly adds up. A mother cat can even become pregnant while nursing.
To prevent pregnancy, spay or neuter your cat and keep them indoors. To take your indoor cat outside for some fresh air and stimulation, use a stretchy leash so they don’t wander too far.
Do what you can
Beyond offering your time and funds to shelters, just keep an eye out while shopping during kitten season. Your favorite brands might be offering deals that give back to charities. For example, if you’re in the market for a self-cleaning litter box, consider purchasing the Litter-Robot 4 Best Friends Bundle—with every purchase, 1% of sales will go towards covering the cost of cat adoptions at Best Friends pet lifesaving centers.
Kitten season is filled with fluff and love, but shelters need your help to handle it all. You may not be able to do everything listed above or even one of the items at this time, but now that you know there's a need, do what you can when you can. Who knows, you may even find a new best friend along the way! Get started by checking your local shelter's website.
Special thanks to Sparrow Marcioni of CatRangers.
