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Dear Friend,
Kitten season is officially back and so is our Kitten Season Challenge! This year, PAWS Chicago is on a mission to find homes for at least 350 kittens, but that doesn’t mean we need 350 different adopters. Here’s why:
Kittens 12 weeks and under thrive when they’re adopted in pairs (alternatively, they can join a home that already has a friendly resident pet). Having a playmate encourages healthy social development, and also improves their happiness as they mature. Plus, it gives you a reason to save two lives instead of one.
This scenario doesn’t just benefit the kittens—it benefits you, too, because watching two kittens or a kitten-cat combo cuddle, play, and learn about the world together is one of the sweetest things you’ll ever see.
But there’s a more serious side to this time of year as well.
“The term kitten season sounds exciting. How could anyone not want a bunch of fluffy kittens around? However, for animal shelters and rescuers, this is the time of the season where we receive an astronomical number of kittens. We also receive many calls to help with moms and their kittens,” says Celene Mielcarek, Program Operations Head at PAWS Chicago.
Overpopulation is the number one cause of euthanasia, and it’s hard to control. Theoretically, one unaltered female cat and her offspring can produce more than 420,000 kittens over a seven-year span. That’s why spay/neuter is so important to our No Kill mission. And when the weather warms up, mating season means that kittens start to appear everywhere.
This kitten season, whether you choose to adopt or help by fostering a family of cuties, supporting spay/neuter programs, or volunteering, you can help change the lives of Chicago’s homeless kittens.
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