The lady walked in with a small pet carrier and said she had to have the carrier back. You see, the momma kitty had been killed by her dog. The thing of it was that nobody even knew the cat, and she had nested under the house and had the babies. Now the woman had these six cute little kittens, and they were hungry.
This story has a happy ending for the kittens. Fortunately for the kittens, we had two mommas in whelp; which means they have litters of their own that they are nursing. Sometimes, if the orphaned kittens are close in age to the nursing ones, moms will accept strangers. We placed three kittens with each mother; then we nervously waited and watched. The sad stories are when the mom rejects orphaned kittens, as you may not be able to remove the orphans before the mom kills them. In both cases the nursing moms allowed the babies to join their litters. So far, all the kittens are thriving.
That same day I fielded three phone calls from good Samaritans who had possession of orphaned kitty litters. If they have their teeth in, you can start them on canned food, then dry, and the kittens may survive. If their teeth are not in, they must be bottle fed, and that is a tedious process which I liken to human nursing demands. At least with human babies you can have four hours of freedom between feedings.
During the first week or two of a puppy or a kitten’s life the ritual must be repeated every two hours, and every baby must be burped several times while feeding.
Puppy and kitten seasons last from about April through October every year. Throughout each summer our shelters and rescues are inundated with puppies and kittens. Our limited number of foster families cannot keep up with the supply.
So, what is the answer to our dilemma? Well, we at JARM have initiated a proactive solution for the feral cat populations called “Trap, Neuter and Release.” TNR programs across the country have been successful over time at reducing the feral cat populations.
You, as an individual can make a difference with your domesticated dogs and cats by spaying and neutering you animals. Once a female cat comes into season, she will come back in season every three weeks until she becomes pregnant. The cycle of gestation is only nine weeks, and the average litter size is six kittens. Statistically, starting with one breeding pair of cats, and just using their heirs, in five short years, there will be a family of about 5,000 cats.
Keep your cats indoors, spay and neuter your pets and be a responsible pet owner. If you hear unusual noises under houses, sheds, parked cars and boats or other stationery objects, investigate before it progresses. Puppy and kitten season is everyone’s problem, but we can make a difference by reducing the magnitude of this overwhelming issue.
Scott Holloway is the executive director at the Jasper Animal Rescue Mission in Ridgeland. He can be reached at 726-7799 or firstname.lastname@example.org