Kitten season this year will look a little different with hundreds of them expected to come into the Guelph Humane Society during a pandemic.
Currently, the GHS said it has over 30 kittens in their care within the last two weeks and anticipates approximately 400 kittens coming in between the months of May and September.
“It’s the busiest time of the year,” said executive director Adrienne McBride.
“We’re probably going to have to get more creative as this season goes on and the number of cats in our care increases with how we’re going to continue to encourage adoption.”
Because safety restrictions prohibit those looking to adopt to meet the kittens – or any other animal – adoption processes this year have changed.
The GHS is hosting zoom meetings for potential adopters to meet their pets.
“It’s a lot of fun. It’s something totally different than we’ve ever tried before,” said McBride.
McBride said many people are enjoying the zoom meeting with foster homes where those interested can learn about the pet and its lifestyles such as its schedules and favourite toys. This way, the adopter can imagine what it’s like to have the animal in their homes.
She said the GHS is seeing many kittens born of cats in their care as well as orphan kittens from stray cats which are rescued by their attendants.
“We’re averaging right now about one orphan kitten a day and plus litters of course,” said McBride.
Orphan kittens range from a couple of days old where they need 24-hour care from their foster care home and are syringe fed to four-week kittens where they are very adventurous and get misplaced from their mother.
“It’s really rewarding for the foster home to see that kitten orphan to strive and have that second chance at life,” said McBride.
Because of the pandemic, the intake process for the organization has also changed with officers rescuing kittens and wearing full personal protective gear to make sure the kittens and community members are safe.
“If someone finds kittens or a stray pet and is bringing them to our building then again, we utilize a contactless curbside method for bringing the animals into our care,” said McBride.
She said it’s really important for the organization to be socializing the kittens with other animals and people so any home they go to will be the right home for them.
McBride said she doesn’t know if the GHS will be able to hold their annual cat adoption event in partnership with Pet Smart this year, or if they do, it will likely be much different with social distancing measures in place.
And sometimes she says, this time of the year is quite stressful for the staff.
“But at the same time kittens are the most adorable little things so its also a nice time for our team in the middle of a pandemic when there’s not a lot of things to look forward to, snuggling little baby kittens certainty helps with our mental health,” said McBride.
The GHS is currently focusing on cats and small animal adoptions like rabbits and guinea pigs.
McBride said dog adoptions are difficult because the GHS typically wants new dog owners to sign up for dog training or some of the dogs need access to grooming services — many which havent been available until recently due to the lockdown.
“Now that those services are beginning to open, we’re also looking at opening our dog adoptions,” said McBride.
“The foster homes have been with the pets throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and so they’ve had many opportunities to get to know the pet and they can really talk to the potential adopters.”
