The litter of week-old kittens, four tiny balls of fur, arrived at the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County after the mother cat was found dead.
It’s kitten season, and the babies aren’t the last cats that will come through the door in the next few months.
“So here we have four babies that need to be bottle fed every two to four hours. I don’t have the staff to do that. We’re not here overnight,” shelter director Misha Anderson said, as the newly-found kittens squealed in their crate.
The shelter has launched a foster program to help care for some of the neediest animals looking for a home, including kittens who’ve lost their mothers, undersocialized cats and dogs. Four to five fosters have been lined up, and the shelter wants a dozen on hand.
After the foster fills out a free application, shelter staff will review the skills needed to care for the animal and provide as much supplies as possible.
“Our goal is to make this as least stressful for them as possible, but an animal inside of a home is always adopted much quicker,” Anderson said.
Foster care coordinator Destinee Phillips said the ideal foster family is patient and compassionate to their animal’s full-time needs.
“You think about them even when you’re not here,” Phillips said.
Foster families are asked to post about the animals on social media to promote their availability for adoption.
Terri Strong, who has been helping at the shelter since 2017, signed up to be a foster. She was holding a bottle for one of the four kittens that had been brought in.
“These kittens would die if somebody did not step up,” Strong said.
For more information about fostering pets, call the shelter at 765-362-8846.
