Kitten season has arrived and we need more kitten foster parents! *Especially* bottle feeders!
Kitten season (March to October) is here and we are seeing a record number of kittens, especially bottle babies. The shelter does not have ability to house them all, so this is where the Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter (VBAS) Kitten Foster Program (KFP) comes in.
Every year, KFP and its network of foster families saves over 250 kittens. Fosters provide their kittens with safe homes, food and care until they are big enough to be adopted to their forever homes. But this year KFP is on pace to take in over 300 kittens. We need more fosters to save all these kittens! If you love kittens, you can absolutely save lives by becoming a kitten foster parent. When you foster you are saving lives twice: You are saving the kittens in your care, *and* you are freeing up space at the shelter to save more lives!
Neonatal kittens (0-4 weeks) are the tiniest kittens arriving at the shelter. They need the most help and must be bottle fed every few hours. The number of bottle feeders coming in this season has increased dramatically and we *desperately* need more fosters who can bottle feed.
What goes into bottle feeding a kitten? Check out this video from Kitten Lady!
We also need fosters who can take in older kittens who are eating on their own, but just need a little more time to reach adoption weight. If you have a busy work schedule or work full time these are the kittens for you! They won’t mind if you work all day: half the day in an empty house or apartment is better than 24 hours a day in a kennel! These kittens are perfectly content to keep each other company while you’re away and of course they’ll be happy to see you when you get home!
The Kitten Foster Program provides comprehensive training for all foster parents, as well as all food, supplies, materials and medical care your kittens will need. We’re also here to support you along the way! When your kitten is ready for adoption, we will help you market them on our website and social media. All of our kittens get adopted!
If you can help foster, whether as a bottle feeder or for a kitten that is eating on its own, we want to hear from you! Please click here to learn more and fill out the application. (And if you know someone who might be interested, please send this along to them!)
And if you can’t foster but would still like to help, please consider making a donation. Any size donation will go a long way to making sure the kittens have all the resources they need to keep the kittens happy, healthy, and adoptable!
