Spring has sprung and San Diego Humane Society’s Kitten Nursery has opened for its 10th season! Currently, more than 100 tiny, orphaned kittens are receiving 24-hour care at San Diego Humane Society’s nationally acclaimed Kitten Nursery. In 2009, San Diego Humane Society opened the first 24-hour Kitten Nursery in the United States. Since then, it has cared for more than 10,000 under age, orphaned kittens in need of around-the-clock feedings and specialty care.
The Kitten Nursery can hold up to 150 kittens at a time, and is currently housing more than 100 kittens. Last year they admitted their 10,000th kitten in the nursery. The Nursery cares for these kittens until they are 8-weeks old and 2-pounds, at which time, they are spayed/neutered and then placed for adoption.
Do you know what to do if you find a baby kitten? Really well intentioned people sometimes bring kittens to the Nursery for care, but sometimes a litter of kittens is just resting peacefully while mom is out finding food for herself. If that’s the case, their mom may later return only to find her babies gone. That’s the worst scenario since baby animals have the best chance of survival if kept with their mother until weaned. So unless animals are injured or truly orphaned, they should be left alone.
If you do find a baby animal there are three steps you should take before moving it:
Watch
Observe the animals to assess whether the babies are injured or exposed to harsh elements.
Wait
Baby animals are fine to be left alone for a few hours, so wait to see if mom comes back. If she doesn’t return within six hours, it’s time to intervene.
Evaluate
Did mom return? There are things you can do to make life a little easier for her like provide food and water so she doesn’t have to leave her babies as often. If she didn’t return, you can either become a foster volunteer to care for orphaned animals or call San Diego Humane Society to take them into their care.
If you’re looking for ways to help, the Kitten Nursery relies on donations. You can donate supplies through their Amazon wish list at https://www.sdhumane.org/programs/kitten-nursery/ The nursery also relies on foster volunteers – especially those willing to take feral mamas and neonate baby kittens!
Cats are great companions, but they do come with messes of their own. Coles Fine Flooring offers great flooring options for cat (and dog!) owners.
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