Kitten Season is Here: How You Can Support Animal Shelters During This Critical Time

In New York, a group of rescued kittens named Strawberry, Blueberry, JoJo, and Mazzy were coaxed out of metal pipes at just six weeks old. Meatball, a single kitten, was found living alone in a cold garage amidst semi-feral adult cats.

Meanwhile, Spaghetti, Macaroni, and Rigatoni were only two weeks old when they were taken in by LIC Feral Feeders, a Queens-based cat rescue that provided them with bottle feeding until they were healthy enough to thrive. These adorable felines exemplify the upcoming kitten season of 2025.

Kitten season usually occurs in the warmer months when most cats give birth, leading to an influx of fragile kittens. This overwhelming surge often taxes shelters, which struggle to provide the necessary around-the-clock care for these vulnerable neonates.

As a result, many of the 4,000 shelters across the United States face a pressing need for foster homes because they lack the resources for constant care. Hannah Shaw, an animal welfare advocate known as the Kitten Lady, states that approximately 1.5 million kittens enter shelters each year, with the majority arriving in May and June.

She emphasizes the importance of fostering to help alleviate the burden on shelters. Despite a high awareness of fostering, misconceptions persist.

Shaw points out that many people avoid fostering due to the false belief that it entails significant costs. Nowadays, many shelters shoulder the expenses for food, supplies, and medical care, leaving foster families responsible only for time and affection.

Lisa Restine, a veterinarian, advises potential adopters to consider adopting kittens in pairs since they bond early in life. When thinking about the number of cats, Restine suggests maintaining a general guideline of two adult cats per adult human in the household while ensuring ample space to avoid territorial issues.

Kittens typically stay with their foster families for a few weeks to a few months, and many foster families end up adopting their charges, with some shelters reporting a “failure” rate as high as 90%. Shaw identifies fear of the fostering process as another barrier, often stemming from misconceptions about needing specialized skills.

To counter this, she shares educational resources through her website, kittenlady.org. Additionally, organizations like Hill’s Pet Nutrition support fostering through significant food donations to shelters.

Shaw concludes by reassuring potential foster parents that shelters are there to support and mentor them, encouraging anyone interested to consider fostering as an achievable and rewarding experience.