For Immediate Release

Contact: b j Altschul, APR

240.773.5967
bja@mchumane.org
Main Shelter Information: 240.773.5960

Rockville, Maryland -- April 25, 2011 -- “Kitten season” every spring brings dozens of litters to the Montgomery County Humane Society in a matter of weeks, with a concurrent urgent need for foster homes to care for them. If you’ve been thinking about getting involved with MCHS, now is the time.

The unofficial name for the mating season for cats, kitten season begins in early spring and runs through early fall. In March 2010, for example, MCHS took in 185 adoptable cats and kittens. The number peaked at 305 in July and remained over 240 every month through October the same year.

Cats are prolific breeders. A female cat can begin having kittens at age six months and can go into heat every three weeks. The size of an average litter is four to six kittens. That can mean several dozen newborns in need of homes in a span of just a few months. Unaltered females can become pregnant while nursing and give birth to multiple litters each season. Many of these mother cats with nursing kittens as well as underage kittens (under eight weeks) without their mothers end up at MCHS, where the staff and fosters work hard to help them.

MCHS is seeking foster homes willing to care for those kittens that are too young to be adopted. Underage kittens cannot legally be adopted, and MCHS depends on foster parents to provide care and socialization for these little ones until they are eight weeks old. Some adult cats also may do better with foster home care than in the shelter. A spare room or bathroom can be an excellent space to provide care for these deserving animals until they get adopted. 

Interested in fostering cats or kittens? Contact Laureen Prebilic, foster coordinator, at fostermau@mchumane.org, 240.793.4201.

MCHS is also seeking volunteers to assist with the care and socialization of cats at the shelter. If you are interested in volunteering, contact David Poole, dpoole@mchumane.org, 240.773.5969.

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More info about understanding kittens

About the Montgomery County Humane Society:

The Montgomery County Humane Society in Rockville, MD, is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that has provided animal sheltering services for Montgomery County since 1958. MCHS receives funds to operate the Montgomery County Animal Shelter under a grant from the Montgomery County Government and from private donations. As the only full-service animal shelter in the county, MCHS handled more than 9,200 animals in 2010, and, as an open admission shelter, never turns an animal away. Visit our website to learn more, or call 240.773.5960 option 4. Hours to visit with the animals are weekdays, noon-7 p.m., and weekends, noon-5 p.m.; closed Wednesdays.

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