Saving Kittens Lives with Expert Care
This past month, I got to visit with newborn kittens at the San Diego Humane Society’s Gaines Street facility even though they are too young to be handled due to their fragile immune systems. I was there because the San Diego Humane Society was hosting its annual Kitten Nursery Training Week, bringing together animal welfare professionals from across the country for hands-on instructions in advanced neonatal kitten care. In partnership with Orphan Kitten Club, the program welcomed staff from 11 national organization to learn lifesaving techniques during peak kitten season.
First, I met with Jordan Frey, marketing manager for the San Diego Humane Society who shared with me that over 1,300 cats (kittens included) are being cared for at this time. 500 of those cats are in foster care. The remaining 800-plus cats are being cared for at the various San Diego Humane Society facilities located throughout the county.
Frey then introduced me to Hannah Shaw who is known as the Kitten Lady. I learned that each spring and summer, shelters nationwide are inundated with thousands of fragile, orphaned kittens requiring intensive, around-the-clock care. Through Orphan Kitten Club’s Mightycat Mentorship Program, participating organizations receive funding for travel and lodging, along with expert training to build sustainable kitten care programs in their communities. San Diego Humane Society — a national leader in kitten care — serves as a model for innovative, lifesaving programs that help more kittens survive and thrive.
Orphan Kitten Club (OKC) is a national 501(c)3 charitable organization offering lifesaving funding and resources to decrease euthanasia rates and increase quality of care for neonatal kittens in shelters coast to coast. A 100 percent donor-funded organization, Orphan Kitten Club is led by a team of experts in animal welfare, veterinary medicine, and kitten wellbeing who thoughtfully identify Mightycat shelter partners and allocate donor funds to kitten programs, emergency veterinary care, and ethical research programs that create meaningful change and move the needle for neonatal kittens.
Founded in 2016 by Hannah “Kitten Lady” Shaw, award-winning kitten rescuer, humane educator and “New York Times” best-selling author, Orphan Kitten Club has awarded more than $3 million in Mightycat grants to save the lives of thousands of kittens in 100 communities.
According to Orphan Kitten Club’s website, the organization and its members are making kitten lifesaving the norm for shelters. This is done through targeted grants and mentorship programs that empower shelters and rescues to create stronger programs specifically for kittens. This happens by hiring dedicated kitten staff, outfitting spaces, equipping foster families with supplies, or supporting innovative initiatives that saves the lives of vulnerable kittens in their communities.
Across the country, these partnerships have helped organizations improve survival rates, support foster families, strengthen medical care, and give thousands of vulnerable kittens a chance to survive.
Though I have raised and cared for kittens and cats throughout my life, I thought it was great to see what is taking place at the San Diego Humane Society and learning how humane societies across the country are now doing more to help kittens survive and thrive.
To become a club member–a monthly supporter of Orphan Kitten Club–visit orphankittenclub.org.
Category: Animals, Local News, Nonprofit
