Kitten Season is Here – What You Can do to Help

Welcome to the fourth post in our Community Cat Awareness series. After a long winter, spring has arrived – flowers are blooming, the grass is greener, and the weather is warmer. But those aren’t the only things that are happening. Spring marks the beginning of kitten season, a time when shelters across the country are inundated with thousands of homeless kittens.

In today’s post, we’ll be discussing kitten season and things you can do to help cats and shelters during this time.

Kitten Season is Here - What You can do to Help

What is Kitten Season?

Kitten season (also known as feline breeding season) is that time of year when there is an increase in the number of births of cats, which usually lasts from spring to mid-autumn (March through October, but the time can vary across the country.) Shelters and rescues become overwhelmed because they receive the bulk of their cat and kitten intake during this time.

Why is There a Kitten Season?

Kitten season usually corresponds to when cats go into heat. This can be attributed to several factors, which include longer days, better weather, and more access to food. These factors mean there can be a much higher survival rate for the kittens. Unlike other animals, though, cats can keep on reproducing, having litter after litter right up until the weather turns cold again.

Kitten season can last even longer in warmer climates, such as southern California. According to the  Michelson Found Animals Foundation, these climates can experience “two kitten seasons because it is less cold.” 

During kitten season, thousands of kittens can enter shelters nationwide, “making kitten season the most challenging time of the year in shelters around the country”, says Best Friends Animal Society. 

How Can You Help?

There are many ways you can help shelters and rescues during kitten season. Here are a few:

• Of course, adoption is number one. If you’ve been thinking of adopting a cat, kitten season is a good time to do it. Space will be opened up at a shelter that will allow them to save another cat, and you will be giving a kitten a second chance at life.

• Shelters and rescues desperately need fosters year-round, but especially this time of year. Kittens can provide you with endless entertainment and fun. Fostering two kittens will help them become well socialized and ready for adoption. “With kitten season threatening so many kittens, fostering is essential to protect their lives as well as ease the strain on overcrowded local shelters,” said Matt Bershadker, ASPCA president and CEO. For an idea of what it’s like to foster kittens, read this great first-hand account. Two of our blogging friends, Random Felines and As The World Purrs, foster kittens on a regular basis. For the Random Felines kittens, check out their blog and Instagram accounts. For As The World Purrs, you can visit their blog here and their Instagram account here.

• Donations are always needed, but even more so now that the demand is higher. Check out your local shelter’s website to see what items they need. They may even have an Amazon wish list, which makes donating even easier.

Photo by Feral Cat Focus of WNY

• Monetary donations help shelters and rescues get cats much needed medical care. Many feral litters are unhealthy, and it is not uncommon for kittens to have conjunctivitis and upper respiratory infections. Although both of these illnesses are easily treatable, infected kittens are often euthanized unless a rescue is able to take them in and get them medical care.

• Volunteering helps the shelter and is rewarding to you. Many kittens have to be bottle fed, and there are not always enough hands to get the job done. If this is something that interests you, contact your local shelter and ask if you can be trained to bottle feed.

Photo by Donald S. Craig via Getty Images

• Social media can be a powerful adoption tool. (That’s how I found Lola.) Share, share, and share some more!

• Spay/neuter is the number one way to avoid kitten season, and practicing TNR in your area will reduce the number of births. Many organizations offer TNR training and provide traps for people to borrow. If you're not ready to trap on your own, an offer to assist in a trapping project would be very appreciated. 

I hope you found this information helpful. Stay tuned for the next installment in this series to find out what to do if you find a kitten. If you've missed any of our Community Cat Awareness posts, you can catch up on them here. 

Are there community cats where you live? Tell us about them.

Dawn



Sources: 

ASPCA

New York City Feral Cat Initiative 

Michelson Found Animals

Best Friends Animal Society

Additional Posts in This Series: 

Five Winter Weather Tips to Help Community Cats

Building Winter Shelters for Outdoor Cats

What is a Community Cat?

Kitten Season is Here - What You Can do to Help

What to do When You Find a Kitten Outdoors

What is the Difference Between a Stray and a Feral Cat? 

How to Tell How Old a Kitten is and Why it's Important to Know

5 Myths About Feral Cats Debunked

Maintaining Feeding Stations for Community Cats

5 Ways You Can Help Feral Cats

How to Build a Feeding Station for Community Cats

About the Author:

Dawn White is an award-winning writer/blogger and the author of Lola: Diary of a Rescued Cat. When she isn’t at her full-time job working with people with intellectual disabilities,  she is advocating for adoption and animal rights and educating her readers on how to give their cats the best lives ever. Dawn has been writing in the pet industry for over seven years and has been a contributing writer for the Jackson Galaxy Project’s Cat Pawsitive Pro Program, BlogPaws, Pet Radio Magazine, and Chewy.com.