‘Tis the season for lots of cats

Ben Godar

Fruits and vegetables might be abundant at specific times of year,

but officials at the Burbank Animal Shelter say cats are also a

seasonal item.

Because cats don’t breed during the winter months, the shelter is

flooded with kittens every summer, according to animal control

officer Claudia Madrid. While the facility can house about 10 cats

during the winter, they currently have 40, and Madrid said in the

next few months, that number would swell to 70 or 80.

“It’s just unbelievable,” said Eva Sippel, president of the

Burbank Animal Shelter Volunteers. “Kittens are coming out of the

walls.”

As part of the annual feline influx, the shelter receives many

kittens that are younger than the six- to eight-weeks old they must

be to be adopted. In response, Sippel began a foster-care program

last year, in which volunteers house the kittens until they are old

enough to be adopted.

Sippel estimated between 30 and 50 kittens would be taken in by

volunteers this summer. She is currently housing nine, including one

that is blind.

Very young kittens must be fed every two hours, and those born

earlier in the year tend to have upper-respiratory problems, shelter

officials said.

While shelter officials are eager to find homes for the large

number of kittens, Madrid said prospective owners need to do a little

research before adopting one of the kittens.

“A lot of times people will adopt a kitten, then bring them back

because they bit,” she said. “It’s not because they’re mean, that’s

just what kittens do.”

For more information on the kittens, contact the animal shelter at

238-3340. Anyone interested in information on the volunteers can

check their Web site at www.basv.org.