As the weather warms and trees and plants start to bloom, there’s a lot more new life on the horizon as well. Unfortunately, those of us in cat rescue don’t feel the joy of spring without also feeling the dread of Kitten Season. Especially in San Diego, where that season seems to start earlier and last longer every year.
Don’t get us wrong, we adore tiny kittens, from the tips of their tiny noses to the ends of their triangle tails. What we fear is the volume of kittens out there—there are so many that we can’t possibly save them all.
The Problem with Kitten Season
More daylight hours makes female cats go into heat, which means they’re likely to have babies. A female can get pregnant as early as four months old, and can have as many as three litters of kittens a year. That means a single unspayed cat can produce as many as 12 cats in a single year. After two years, those unaltered cats result in more than 144 cats, and after seven years, those unaltered cats can produce more than 420,000 cats. That’s how cat overpopulation has become such an epidemic.
It’s also become a tragedy. The reality is that only one in four kittens born outside lives past six months. Plenty of good-hearted people try to save kittens they find outside by taking them to shelters and humane societies. But there are just so many found every year that shelters and rescue organizations don’t have the resources to care for them all. Especially those that still need to nurse every couple hours or that are sick—because when they come from the outdoors, most of them are sick. Often the only option is humane euthanasia.
And in case you think that’s only about sick kittens, a recent study discovered that across the United States, more than 1.4 million healthy felines are euthanized every year. (That only counts the healthy ones, not the sick ones, mind you.) Why? Because there simply aren’t enough shelters, rescues, fosters, and adopters to take them all in.
Help Us Save More Kittens
Cat rescues across the country are doing everything we can to save as many kittens as possible this and every year. At LYFF, in particular, we focus on the kittens whose needs shelters can’t meet by pulling the underage and sick ones from euthanasia lists. But we need your support! The biggest help you can give us is to join us as a foster volunteer and take in cats or kittens to get them old enough and healthy enough to be adopted. You can also volunteer with LYFF in other capacities, such as taking a shift caring for our adoptable kitties at one of our adoption centers.
In addition, you can donate money or goods—see our Kitten Shower wish list!—to help us with the resources we need to take care of the babies we take in. And you can help spread the word, sharing and amplifying our posts to help us find more volunteers and donors.
It takes a community to help save more tiny, precious lives, and we welcome everyone who wants to support our mission of giving cats and kittens a second chance at life. Join us today!
