• Unfortunately a lot of animal shelters are packed with animals and a lot of shelters are
always looking for foster homes! Like foster homes for kittens without a mum (which is what I foster),
pregnant females or females with their litter, cats that need to recover
from an injury or illness, dogs that need to recover, and pups. The
food costs, vet bills, etc. are - over here at least - handled by the
shelter, so all you need is time and a lot of TLC to give. A camera is
handy too ^_^ Maybe you, or someone you know, never thought of fostering
but would love it as much as I do! :)
• If you have a cat and think it would be fun to have a litter of kittens,
please consider the huge amount of animals still waiting for a loving
home. You might find owners for your kittens, but in the mean time, there are also plenty of kittens in the shelters waiting for an owner. And if your kittens then end up getting kittens as well, and so on... It'll add so much cats from just 1 litter! Neutering your cats is always a good thing (also to drastically lower the chance on, or completely prevent certain health issues, like mammary gland tumors) and you could instead have a look at
your local shelter for a foster option. That way you can still enjoy having kittens! They'll usually get
neutered by the shelter as well, so they won't add to the problem later
on either.
• If you find a litter of kittens, don't just take them away,
assuming mum is gone! Unfortunately this happens quite a bit. People
mean it well, but often the mum is still nearby, simply afraid to come
closer when there's humans around. Contact your local animal shelter,
animal ambulance or animal rescue group, and ask them for advice.
There's methods to get both the mum and the kittens, and then they can
be taken somewhere safe as a family :)
Extra tips: if you find a litter and aren't sure if the mom is still nearby and taking care of her kittens, pour some sand or flour or something similar in a circle around the nest, at some distance (around 40cm/16inch). After that, simply leave and come back a couple of hours later (say 3-4 hours). If the mom is still around, you'll be able to see that by the paw prints in the sand. If the kittens are quiet, you can also assume that mom is still around.
• The kittens that you see on this blog are from an animal shelter in the
Netherlands. If you'd like to know more of a kitten, please contact me
so I can provide you with the shelter's information!