‘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.