TITUSVILLE, Fla. – It’s kitten season, which means that no-kill shelters like the SPCA of Brevard are inundated with new kittens -- sometimes coming in by the van-load.
On Wednesday, SPCA of Brevard will get almost 80 kittens from a West Palm Beach shelter, bringing their kitten total close to 100. The tiny felines will all need foster homes until they are 8-weeks-old and ready for adoption.
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Kitten season usually starts in April and lasts as long as the warm weather does, SPCA of Brevard public relations coordinator Susan Naylor said. Last year, it didn't let up until October.
Naylor said the shelter in south Florida wasn't ready to be a no-kill shelter yet and needed to find a place to send 78 kittens and six dogs by Wednesday.
“Just send them all. We’ll figure it out," Naylor said the kitten nursery manager told her.
The Titusville shelter already has 15 kittens that need to be placed in foster homes and Naylor said kittens get dropped off daily during breeding season.
Thankfully, Naylor said, the SPCA has a great community of people on the SPCA of Brevard Foster Connection Facebook group who have previously fostered animals for the shelter; however, this time they are going to need a lot more.
“With this many kittens we might need outside of our regular fosters,” Naylor said, adding she'll probably take a few home, too.
The commitments that come with fostering these babies are not as great as some might think. Some of them still need to be bottle-fed, but Naylor said just having time and space for them is the biggest requirement.
“All you need is a quiet place in your house. We can help with a crate. We provide all food and bedding,” Naylor said.
Kittens typically stay with foster families for a few weeks until they are old enough to be adopted. Naylor said foster parents can help find forever homes for their kittens, too, as long as they go through the SPCA.
Naylor said hosting kittens is a great family activity and allows the furry babies to socialize with children.
“It’s good to socialize them and play with them,” Naylor said. “It’s great since school is getting out.”
Anyone interested in fostering anywhere from one kitten to a whole litter and mother cat can check on the SPCA of Brevard Foster Connection Facebook group, call the SPCA, apply to be a foster family online or just stop by.
How to foster
Facebook: Join the SPCA Foster Connection Facebook group
Apply online: http://www.spcanorthbrevard.com/fostering.html
Stop by: Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
6035 Sisson Road, Titusville, Fla.
Call: 321-567-3615