Animal shelter needs help with cats and kittens
El Dorado County Animal Services is looking for caring local residents who can help provide temporary foster homes for new mother cats and their baby kittens over the next several weeks.
“Currently, we have three mother cats and their kittens at the shelter in Placerville who could benefit from temporary placement in a loving residential home, and we fully expect to get more mama cats and kittens in the coming weeks. We are only at the start of kitten season,” said Allison Lozoya, animal shelter supervisor, said in a press release.
According to Lozoya, it is generally much better for mother cats and their babies to be in a home environment during the first few weeks of life, rather than be kept in a confined, shelter situation.
“A home environment is less stressful for the mother and her nursing babies,” said Lozoya. “In addition, our volunteers are wonderful about caring for and socializing the animals. The kittens are more adoptable when they come back to the shelter to be put up for adoption.”
Volunteers of the Animal Services’ Foster Care Program are provided with all necessary supplies to care for the cats (including food, bedding, a litter box, litter, and other supplies), and can specify how long they would like to volunteer. El Dorado County residents interested in applying as a volunteer in the Animal Services Foster Care Program can learn by calling (530) 621.7631.
There is no such thing as temporary keeping a cat and her kittens it always turns out as permanent.
I assume Mr. DeWitt is joking in his comment, because kittens are so darn cute that they are difficult to give up, but just to be sure there’s no misunderstanding, I thought I would add a bit to the story.
Both of the El Dorado County shelters (S. Lake Tahoe and Placerville) welcome foster families for their cat mothers and kittens. Foster families typically keep the cats until the kittens are 6-8 weeks old, then all of them must be returned to the shelter to be put up for adoption.
Anyone interested in fostering cats or dogs is encouraged to call the Tahoe shelter at 530-573-7925 to learn more and to receive an application.