CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Cats and kittens make up the majority of Richmond Animal League's (RAL) adoptions each year, and about 75% occur during what the nonprofit calls "kitten season."
"Kitten season is what those of us in the animal welfare community call the period of warmer months when cats are breeding more, so shelters get overrun with all these litters of adorable kittens," explained Allana Maiden, RAL development and communications coordinator. "And you know, our animal control shelters just aren't equipped to handle the volume of kittens that are coming in."
If you find a kitten or kittens near your home or business, Maiden said you should first try to locate their mother, because kittens are best cared for by their moms.
But if you can't find the mother, and the kittens appear sick, injured, or orphaned, contact a local animal shelter or rescue organization for assistance.
Maiden adds that animal shelters in the area also aren’t equipped to handle the sheer volume of kittens that come in during the early spring and summer, and many of these kittens are too young to survive without foster care.
"It's vital that those kittens get into a foster home where someone can give them not around-the-clock care, but more care than they would be able to get in a shelter setting," Maiden said. "They can get a little more individualized attention, and then the biggest thing for them is that they're getting socialized to people at a very young age, so they're going to be, you know, happy kittens that want to be in a home and want to be with a family."
That’s why RAL needs to expand its number of foster families.
The organization is hosting a kitten fostering 101 class on Saturday, April 5 that will go over essential topics like bottle-feeding, socialization, medical needs, and some of the support available to fosters.
The event will run from 10 to 11 a.m. at RAL's location in Chesterfield on International Drive.
For more information or to RSVP, head to Richmond Animal League's website.
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