Every year, millions of pets are brought to shelters across the country. Many of these shelters are woefully overcrowded with cats, dogs, puppies and, specifically, newborn kittens. These newborn kittens are heavily dependent on their mother, who feeds them and takes care of them around the clock. Unfortunately, many newborn kittens come to shelters without their mothers, and the already overcrowded shelters are not prepared to take care of these animals, since they would require around the clock care that the staff cannot give. They are sadly forced to euthanize newborn kittens by closing time—that is, if no one volunteers to foster them.

Fostering kittens is a short-time commitment, and doesn’t take up that much of your time, according to kitten foster and founder of the Kitten Lady project, Hannah Shaw. Kitten Lady is a project based in Washington D.C. with the intent to help stop the euthanasia of kittens by informing as many people as possible on how to foster. Shaw travels around the country teaching workshops on the subject and her website, kittenlady.org, has many instructional videos on all the do’s and don’ts of how to care for these tiny felines.

According to kittenlady.org, there are only a few steps to saving kittens’ lives. The first step is to find kittens in need of help by contacting a local animal shelter or animal rescue. Franklin County Humane Society in Union, despite being a no-kill shelter, welcomes volunteers and may be a good place to start. Next, gathering at least some basic supplies is a must. Many of the supplies are common household items, like blankets and paper towels, so overall fostering is low-cost. Some shelters and organizations will help cover the cost, as well.

Kittens are typically adopted at 8 or 9 weeks old, so fostering kittens normally takes up to two months. Feeding kittens is easy enough, and takes only a few minutes. However, repeating this process every couple of hours may be tricky, and leaving kittens alone for too long is not an option. It’s recommended that each foster have a co-foster—someone trusted to temporarily take care of kittens while the main foster is busy or taking a break.

Lastly, finding each kitten a home is essential—and preferably, that home is not the foster’s. The fewer kittens a foster home has, the more room they have to temporarily foster more kittens and save their lives. The goal of kitten fostering is not to keep the kittens, and after sharing some nice photos of the kittens online, new fosters may be surprised to find how easy it is to get these little felines adopted.

Kitten fostering can be a rewarding experience. The price of midnight feedings and special supplies is definitely worth holding and playing with a tiny kitten, and knowing their life has been saved. If more people devoted just a little time and patience to fostering, hundreds of thousands of orphaned kittens could be saved every year.

Quick links:

Kitten Lady project

Detailed supply list

Kitten Lady’s Orphaned Kitten Routine