Alley Cat Allies has partnered with the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center and the Animal Coalition of Tampa Florida to birth a new initiative that will save thousands of kittens this summer: the Kitten Care Kits. These kits, filled with necessities to raise neonatal kittens, empower anyone to become a hero and save lives!
Scott Trebatoski, the director of the Pet Resource Division in Hillsborough County, needed a plan to keep kittens out of the shelter. His shelter, like most shelters, does not have the capacity to provide the special care that unweaned and young kittens need. Many kittens are killed in shelters but can thrive in foster care.
The number of kittens coming into the Hillsborough shelter increases from 300 to 1200 a month during the summer. A new program he calls Wait Until 8® empowers citizens to become at-home caregivers for stray and neonatal kittens until 8 weeks of age when they can be returned to the shelter for adoption.
When residents bring kittens to the Hillsborough shelter now, they are encouraged to take the kittens back home and raise them. Shelter staff provide free Kitten Survival Kit supplies, written care instructions, and a personal orientation for care of neonatal kittens. Orphaned but healthy neonatal kittens are returned to the shelter at eight weeks of age (or when they weigh at least two pounds).
The Kitten Care Kitsa cardboard carrier filled with kitten milk replacer, nursing bottles, kitten food, and other itemsare funded by Alley Cat Allies.
If you have found abandoned kittens or would like to have a Kitten Care Kit ready for people who contact your group or shelter, you can learn how to make your own kitten kit here!
Alley Cat Allies would like to thank the dedicated staff at the Pet Resources Division including Scott Trebatoski, John Page, Lisa Centonze, and David Morton, as well as Frank and Linda Hamilton from the Animal Coalition of Tampa for their devoted work in making this program a reality and making a difference in so many lives.