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What Shelters Can Expect Kitten Season to Look Like in 2024
02Apr’24
The Kittens are Coming!
What Shelters Can Expect Kitten Season to Look Like in 2024
Have you already started receiving orphaned kittens at your shelter or rescue? If you’ve been in animal welfare for at least a few years, you probably have an idea of what to expect: A slow trickle of kittens in early spring followed by what feels like an endless tidal wave of kittens by summer. In most of North America, we see kitten intakes increase beginning in March with the highest number of intakes in May and June.
How many kittens entered shelters and rescues in 2023?
By our estimate, 1,580,000 of the 3,300,000 cats entering organizations in 2023 were under five months old.*
Are more kittens entering shelters than in years' past?
17,000 fewer kittens entered shelters and rescues in 2023 than in 2022.
While this may sound positive at first, it’s important to note that kitten intakes have actually increased since 2019 by 81,000 kittens. In 2019, kittens only accounted for 44% of total cat intakes, while in 2023, they made up 47% of total cat intakes.
Because fewer adult/age-unknown cats entered shelters and rescues last year, a higher percentage of total cat intakes are kittens. This change may be related to the success of trap-neuter-return programs and diversion programs aimed at keeping adult cats out of shelters.
While this may sound positive at first, it’s important to note that kitten intakes have actually increased since 2019 by 81,000 kittens. In 2019, kittens only accounted for 44% of total cat intakes, while in 2023, they made up 47% of total cat intakes.
Because fewer adult/age-unknown cats entered shelters and rescues last year, a higher percentage of total cat intakes are kittens. This change may be related to the success of trap-neuter-return programs and diversion programs aimed at keeping adult cats out of shelters.
Is kitten season starting earlier?
If kitten season was indeed starting earlier, we’d see kitten intakes as a percentage of total cat intake rising earlier in the year. While some shelters and rescues are reporting that they are taking in litters of kittens earlier than usual this year, we have yet to see kitten season deviating from its usual yearly seasonality.
Experts say cat breeding season is triggered by the increase in daylight hours that begins in early spring, not because of changing temperatures. For this reason, it is unlikely kitten season has begun any earlier than usual this year.
What can we do to prepare?
We checked in with Hannah Shaw, known by most as the Kitten Lady. During our conversation, Hannah emphasized that now is the time for rescues and shelters to prepare for the coming kitten season.
“Right now, shelters should be reaching out to last year’s fosters, providing training for new and returning fosters, and recruiting new kitten fosters,” Shaw advised.
She also recommends doing a kitten shower or kitten supply wishlist to ensure that you have everything you need ready and on hand. Hannah advises that shelters create a bank of ‘kitten kits’ for foster parents with essential supplies like heating disks, small digital scales, kitten bottles, formula, and baby wipes.
And for shelters and rescues that cannot afford incubators, Hannah adds that while an
incubator may be ideal housing for neonatal kittens, they’re also expensive and aren’t necessary for every shelter or rescue.
“While it isn’t practical for most shelters to have an overnight kitten nursery loaded with incubators, that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a dedicated safe space for kittens while awaiting foster,” she said. “Keeping kittens in a separate area from the general population is important, and they can be housed in something as simple as a glass aquarium or a plastic bin — just place a heating pad under half of it and ensure they have a cozy blanket.”
Hannah offers free, fun training on her website that can help prepare shelter staff and potential fosters to provide the best possible care for every kitten.
Whether your kitten intakes are trending along national lines or you’ve seen an early influx of kittens, the message is the same: It’s time to get ready because the kittens are coming!
Stay tuned for the second installment of this blog series next week!
Look for the second part of this two-part blog series next week when we talk with Hannah about how shelters and rescues can track and utilize kitten data and learn easy changes you can make to increase your kitten lifesaving rates.
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*SAC tracks ages by animals under 5 months and animals over 5 months. Organizations are also able to also choose “age unknown.” Stats above are based on data as it is reported, with “age unknown” added to adult cat numbers.