Kitten season is coming and the Regina Humane Society (RHS) is putting out a call for families to take care of the influx of tiny kittens that turn up in the spring and summer.
“Last year we had about 400 more cats than the year before, and the year before that it was 500 more cats than we had had after many years of decline and what it’s telling us is there are a lot of cats out there that are not indoors and when it warms up they get active,” explained Bill Thorn, director of public relations for the RHS.
He said at any given time the humane society will have about 60 cats or dogs being fostered in private homes instead of at the shelter itself.
Thanks to the late spring, just a few litters of kittens have come in so far, but Thorn said the organization wants to get ahead of the rush. Thorn explained kittens that are just a few days or weeks old typically don’t do very well in the shelter.
“If we can get them out of the shelter environment and into a home environment where things are a little more controlled, they always do better and we have a much higher success rate,” Thorn said.
For kittens that come in with no mother, they require feeding every two hours so that is a bigger time commitment. He also noted the need for families to foster injured animals as they recover.
Thorn said the humane society will match volunteers up with animals based on what level of care they are able to provide.
“It’s a great way for people as well to experience looking after an animal and having an animal in the home without the long-term commitment,” Thorn said.
Fostering can last for a few days or up to several weeks depending on the situation and sometimes they can wind up staying for a lot longer. Foster families have the first chance to adopt the animals they care for when they are old enough.
Thorn knows first-hand how common “foster fails” are when people foster animals and wind up giving them a forever home.
“For example, my own case, we had fostered a mom and some kittens a couple years ago and we wound up adopting the mom and she’s been a wonderful addition to our family,” Thorn commented
People who are interested in opening their homes to tiny kittens, puppies or injured animals can apply to foster animals on the humane society website. Food, supplies and veterinary care are provided by the humane society.