While for many this time of year is known as the festive season, for the team at RSPCA ACT it is now kitten season.
The shelter at Weston hit the ground running when they recently had 21 strays (15 kittens, six adults) come through their doors in a single day. This influx of strays, combined with a heightened risk of disease among the cats, has led to an urgent call from the RSPCA ACT for more volunteer foster carers.
The local shelter is expecting 30 to 50 cats to come in each week, and this recent influx has sparked an urgent need for foster carers. If these animals are not taken in, they are “very much in danger from vehicles, other animals and diseases”, the RSPCA ACT advises.
Although Mondays are the most common days to receive strays, 21 in one day is very challenging for the organisation to manage. Michelle Robertson, CEO of RSPCA ACT, says they would love to get some more helping hands onboard.
“Fostering a cat or litter of kittens is incredibly rewarding. Helping a tiny newborn grow into a healthy cat and setting them up with the chance to become someone’s much loved lifelong companion is one of the most rewarding things you can do,” Ms Robertson said.
The need for foster carers is also exacerbated by a current nationwide shortage of cat vaccinations. Due to the high numbers of cats and kittens presented to the RSPCA, the shelter is at an elevated risk of infectious disease. These diseases include cat flu, ringworm and calici virus.
Although RSPCA ACT says they have taken positive measures to mitigate the shortage of vaccines, having kittens and cats in a foster carer environment significantly reduces their risk of infection.
The RSPCA ACT requires urgent fostering for neo-natal kittens, juvenile kittens and pregnant cats. Ms Robertson suggests that a household caring for a neo-natal kitten can work as a team to feed, play with and nurture the kittens. It can be a great experience for families or couples.
“Neo-natal foster carers are our real superheroes; they are the ones who take a litter of the tiniest newborns that normally would have practically zero chance of living a normal life and helping them bloom into people’s pets,” says Ms Robertson.
The RSPCA will provide training, which is now also available online, and resources, including medications, supplements, food, toys and blankets to give both the kittens and the foster carers a rewarding experience. The RSCPA says that they can never have too many carers.
Foster carers will need access to a vehicle in case of emergency, a warm space to keep kittens, and be able to weigh and keep a diary of caring for the kittens.
If you can’t become a foster carer, volunteering with the RSPCA, donating to them and caring for animals are all ways to help the RSPCA.
To express interest in becoming a kitten or cat foster carer, follow the link at rspca-act.org.au/cat-foster or call RSPCA ACT on (02) 6287 8100.
By Tahir Rangwalla, Work Experience Student
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