SPRINGFIELD — Dakin Humane Society is reopening its intensive care unit to assist the rising variety of kittens that the organization treats and cares for.
“A lot of the cats that have been coming in are hanging on for life,” stated Lee Chambers, media relations and growth specialist at Dakin.
In summer time 2020, Dakin helped roughly 440 cats. By final summer time, these numbers practically tripled.
Dakin is on the lookout for volunteers to assist run its KICU, which is opening in July of this yr. What’s a KICU? A kitten ICU, in fact.
Volunteers must be 16 years old or older, and must have dependable transportation.
They additionally must be quick-learners, and be comfy dealing with sick and frail kittens. Volunteers will assist administer medical protocols and help with cleansing, amongst different duties.
Chambers stated, whereas the organization doesn’t measure what number of feral cats they see per yr, “Dakin has been incrementally seeing more and more kittens who need help,” which is without doubt one of the causes that it’s opening an ICU.
Currently, the organization has three incoming streams of cats and kittens, from the Kitten Street Team, the Moms Fixed Free program and calls about homeless kittens.
The Kitten Street Team is made up of 5 devoted employees members who “respond to colonies of feral cats and kittens,” Chambers stated.
“The adult cats are hardwired to live outside, so we release them after we fix them, but kittens are spayed and neutered before they are trained for domestication,” she stated.
The Moms Fixed Free program permits homeowners of pregnant pets to carry their animals to Dakin to be fastened after birthing. Their litters are adopted out.
Chambers stated Dakin will get a number of calls about homeless kittens, and that the organization ensures that kittens are medically cared for earlier than being adopted.
“Some animals come in with a variety of medical issues,” she stated. “Those animals will stay in the ICU for as long as they need before being domesticated and/or adopted.”
The coaching for KICU volunteers begins in May. Dakin is on the lookout for folks to enroll beforehand, in order that Dakin can evaluation purposes and interview folks for the positions.
If folks occur to use after May, Chambers stated some might be skilled after the preliminary coaching section ends; however the most variety of volunteers the organization is on the lookout for is 50 folks.
If you have an interest in turning into a volunteer, go to dakinhumane.org/KICU.
Dakin is at 171 Union St. in in Springfield.
