Paws for a Cause: Tiny kittens need your help

It’s spring, which brings a new crop of flowers, yes, but also kittens.

Each spring (and all year, in fact) the Humane Society of Southern Arizona puts out the call for people to foster cats of all ages, but particularly newborn kittens that need to be bottle fed. 

The staff at HSSAZ never know how many fosters they will need so they are asking for trained people to be on call.

“We don’t know when (the kittens) are coming in so we want to be able to have people on call so that we can say, ‘We got four or we got three, can you take them?’” Dr. Karyn Carlson, veterinarian for the HSSAZ, said.

For anyone interested in volunteering, training is provided. It is not as scary as it may seem, though it does take commitment because these bottle babies have to be fed fairly often.

“The basic care is not too complicated,” Carlson said. “What I would say is a little more nuanced are the things to watch for that might indicate that there’s a problem.”

One of the challenges is to get newborns to suckle if they have never been bottle fed but the people at the HSSAZ are there to support foster volunteers so a phone call which will be answered 24 hours a day can help solve an issue.

Then there’s the frequency of feeding.

“They need to be fed, depending on how old they are, every two to four hours,” Carlson said. “The new recommendation is to let them sleep and then when they wake up to feed them.”

It’s true even at night. A foster needs to feed the kittens as often as the kittens wake up.

Then the kittens “need to be stimulated after they eat so that they urinate and defecate,” Carlson said. “Constipation is also a really big issue that we see in these little babies.”

The other big thing with fostering bottle-fed kittens is keeping them warm. Volunteers will sometimes use a warming disc or a heating pad on low but only for so long because the kittens are not able to escape if they get too hot.

Training, which can be in person or online, is provided, as are all necessary supplies. 

Usually kittens are not born alone but with four or five siblings, and the HSSAZ tries to keep these cat families together. However, trying to take care of four or five bottle-fed kittens can be overwhelming so volunteers, especially new volunteers, are not given more kittens than they are comfortable with.

“We will split them up however we need to so somebody is not overwhelmed,” Carlson said. “But we do really try to keep at least pairs together because that’s really important for socialization.”

Bottle-fed kittens seem so fragile. What if one dies?

“Unfortunately it does happen and usually there are some signs things aren’t going well before (death) happens,” Carlson said. “Usually the foster is aware and they are in touch with the (support) team.”

Even when death occurs the support team does not judge a volunteer.

“We know this is an artificial environment for (the kittens) and nothing is going to replace them being with the mom and so some just don’t make it and we also know there are infectious diseases and parasites that make them really susceptible to getting dehydrated,” Carlson said. “All of those factors can lead to them dying.”

If a volunteer becomes uncomfortable with the situation, the support team will take the kitten back. They work to get a good match between kitten and volunteer. Older bottle-fed kittens will also be available and can be requested.

Because this is birth season, people may encounter newborns. What should they do? Carlson has some ideas, beginning with leaving the pile alone for a bit.

“I would watch them from a distance and give it a little bit of time to see if Mom comes back before intervening,” she said.

Times vary but Carlson said it’s best to wait and watch for about 20 minutes to an hour before stepping in. 

How to volunteer

To volunteer to take care of bottle fed kittens or older cats or cats with medical conditions, call the Foster Care Department at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona at 520-327-6088, ext. 102 or 148