Animal shelters around the country are gearing up for what is known as “kitten season,” when cats begin to give birth to countless kitten litters. Typically beginning in late spring and continuing throughout summer, kitten season stretches the already-thin resources animal shelters and rescues have when the influx of unwanted cats and kittens crowd shelter and kennel space.
The Bradshaw Shelter’s Foster Care Program helps save lives and space during this hectic season.
“We call our foster care providers ‘life-saving heroes’ because they give animals who are too young, sick, or injured to be available for adoption a second chance,” said Annette Bedsworth, Director of Sacramento County Bradshaw Animal Shelter. “Fosters provide safe and loving temporary homes where animals can thrive until they are ready for adoption.”
Residents interested in becoming fosters should submit a foster application to foster@saccounty.gov. The shelter provides all food, bedding, supplies, toys, and more at no cost to the foster. Fostering is a great way to help alleviate the impact of kitten season at your local shelter and can provide temporary companionship for those still working from home.
The shelter is most in need of fosters for bottle babies: kittens who have been orphaned or abandoned and are too young to eat on their own. If you’ve never fostered a bottle-fed kitten before, the foster team will teach you everything you need to know. Fosters are also needed for kittens that just have a little bit of growing left to do, as well as for sick or injured kittens and cats. The time commitment for fostering can be anywhere from one to eight weeks, depending on the kitten’s size at the time of fostering.
For more information about fostering, including fostering FAQs, visit the Sacramento County Bradshaw Animal Shelter website. To learn more about what to do if you find a kitten or litter of kittens, visit the feral cat information webpage.
Donations of essential kitten season supplies are also needed, including:
Donations are accepted at the Sacramento County Bradshaw Animal Shelter’s Animal Admissions Door at 3839 Bradshaw Road, Tuesday through Sunday, between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. For a complete list of supply needs, visit the shelter’s Amazon Wishlist or the donation website.
