Kitten season on the Palouse: Responsible adoption and care, how folks can help shelters
by Christopher Mitchell
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MOSCOW, Idaho – The Humane Society of the Palouse and Whitman County Humane Society want to educate the public on pet ownership and adoption best practices.
This is in hopes of limiting the amount of kittens and litters left without a permanent home.
“We’re seeing plenty of orphaned kittens whose mothers either ran away or weren’t able to care for them and accidental litters that are happening and people need help rehoming their kittens,” said Humane Society of the Palouse Public Relations Manager, Lauren Green.
Kitten season creates a difficult situation, as shelters fill up with strays and unwanted offspring.
One way that the community can help is through fostering animals.
“Foster homes just kind of allow us to expand the reach of the shelter beyond these four walls. Foster homes allow us to put kittens into homes with families so they’re able to grow up with love and be incredibly social kittens who go on to be super happy and adoptable,” Green said.
Fostering also helps to take some of the burden off the shelters, especially as they get deeper into the season.
Foster information is available on the Humane Society’s website.
When you meet an animal, it can be tempting to bring them home with you right away.
However, Green suggests waiting and seeing how it really fits with your life and situation.
She encourages plenty of consideration before making the commitment.
“We really like folks to recognize there’s a lot more to that. Every time you’re adopting a pet from our shelter you’re very easily committing to 15 or 20 or more years with this pet by your side,” Green said.
For any pet owners going through a tough time, there is a community-stocked pantry where folks can get pet food and supplies for free.
Green also wanted to express the importance of spaying and neutering your cats, as that can help to limit the amount of unwanted or unplanned litter of kittens.
Also, both humane societies have a snap program to help with the financial burden of those procedures.
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