If you love cats, you may have heard the term “kitten season” before—but what exactly does it mean? Kitten season is the time of year when shelters and rescues typically receive an influx of newborn kitten litters as well as their mothers. This surge in cats can create challenges for pet shelters, but with the right knowledge and support, everyone can play a part in helping shelters, ensuring the well-being of the cats, and finding them a loving home.
When Is Kitten Season?
Kitten season typically occurs from early spring through late fall, with a peak in the warmer months. During this time, unspayed female cats go into heat more frequently and have the potential to give birth to multiple litters, with an average of 4-6 kittens born per litter. This can really add up! Many of these kittens are born outdoors to feral or stray cats and end up in shelters or on the streets.
Why Is Kitten Season a Challenge?
While kittens are undeniably adorable, the large number arriving at shelters during kitten season creates a high demand for resources like medical care, food, and space. In Colorado, kittens cannot be adopted until they are two months old so shelters are providing lots of long term care for them! Shelters and rescue organizations work tirelessly to care for these kittens and their mothers, but they often face challenges like overcrowding and foster home shortages.
Foster homes help address space shortages but they also play a crucial role in keeping all cats healthy. Kittens don’t yet have a fully developed immune system or GI tract making them more vulnerable to catching and spreading illnesses, which can further overwhelm the shelter and impact other cats. Kittens do not begin to receive illness preventing vaccines until they are at least four weeks of age. Additionally, kittens require frequent monitoring, socialization, and specialized care, which can be challenging for shelters managing many animals at once. Foster caregivers help by providing individualized attention, ensuring kittens receive the care they need to grow strong and healthy before adoption.
To reduce the number of kittens in shelters and ease the ongoing pressure on resources, shelters also focus on spaying mother cats, preventing future litters. This helps break the cycle of overcrowding and ensures that shelters can better meet the needs of all the cats in their care. With community support—through fostering, adoption, and other forms of assistance—we can give every kitten the best chance at a healthy, happy future.
How You Can Help During Kitten Season
There are many ways you can make a difference during kitten season. Whether you’re able to adopt, foster, volunteer, or support from afar, every effort counts. Here are some suggestions:
1. Become a Foster
Many shelters and rescues rely on foster homes to care for young kittens
who are too small to be adopted. These kittens need a safe and loving environment where they can grow, socialize, and receive proper medical care. Fostering is a rewarding experience and saves countless lives. Learn more about being a foster with Cat Care Society and apply online.
2. Spay and Neuter Your Pets
Preventing unwanted litters starts with responsible pet ownership. Ensure your own cats are spayed or neutered, and encourage friends and family to do the same. We have a resource list of lost-cost clinics that can help make this more accessible. Encourage your friends and family to read more about the benefits of spaying and neutering your cats in one of our other blog posts.
3. Adopt, Don’t Shop
If you’ve been thinking about welcoming a cat into your family, kitten season is an ideal time to adopt. Shelters are overflowing with kittens and adult cats looking for homes. We also suggest adopting two kittens at the same time so they can continue practicing great behavior habits! By adopting, you’re not only giving a cat a second chance but also freeing up space in shelters for other animals in need. Check out our cats available for adoption!
Cat Care Society has a robust in-house cat socialization and enrichment program, and we also have many great resources to help you bond with your new kitty once it’s home and set up an environment where your cat can play, express their natural behaviors, and thrive!
4. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)
One of the most effective ways to reduce the number of kittens born on the streets is through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). This humane approach involves trapping stray and feral cats, having them spayed or neutered, and then returning them to their outdoor colonies where they have adapted to live. TNR helps stabilize cat populations and prevents future litters from being born. Read more about TNR in one of our other blog posts and check out our list of TNR organizations that provide services in the Denver metro area if you’d like to get involved or need support.
5. Support Shelters and Rescues
Whether or not you can adopt or foster, there are plenty of ways to make a difference! Here are just a few ways you can help:
- Sponsor an adoption to encourage the adoption of a cat who have been in the shelter the longest or has the most urgent need to find their new family
- Donate supplies from our shopping wish lists or from our list of new or gently used cat items, especially during the busy kitten season! Kittens often require more medical care, specialty food, and other costly resources, so any kind of donation helps free up funds to meet these needs.
- Participate in King Soopers’ Community Giving Program, which awards non-profits like CCS with free money from your purchases at no extra cost to you!
- To get started, sign up for a free King Soopers loyalty account (or use your existing one) and designate CCS as your preferred charity. Then, simply swipe your card or enter your loyalty ID number every time you check out.
- Set up a one-time or recurring monthly financial donation and know that your donation will directly support the cats and achieve CCS’ mission to be a safe and enriching place for all cats on their journey to a loving home.
- For example, a monthly $25 donation pays for one neuter surgery, a monthly $100 donation covers a year of arthritis medication for six cats, and a $500 donation provides 20 days of care for a shelter cat.
- Check out other ways to contribute—we’re fortunate to have many easy and convenient ways for you to show your support.
6. Spread Awareness
EduCATion is key to supporting our cat population—it’s built right into the word! Share information about kitten season, TNR programs, and responsible pet ownership with your community. Social media, local events, and word-of-mouth can all help raise awareness and encourage others to get involved.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for helpful, shareable content. Sign up for our email newsletter, aka our Mewsletter, to stay updated on upcoming events, adoptable cats, must-read stories, and ways to support the shelter. We also publish a quarterly print newsletter called Cat Care Quarterly that you can sign up to receive at home for free!
Every Action Makes a Difference
Kitten season is a challenging time for shelters and rescues, but with community involvement, we can help save lives and reduce the number of homeless cats and overcrowded shelters. Whether you open your home to a cat in need, contribute supplies or funds, or simply spread the word, your support makes a meaningful impact. CCS is grateful to all of our supporters, including our dedicated volunteers, fosters, donors, adopters and beyond. Let’s continue working together to give kittens the best start in life and create a brighter, more hopeful future for all cats!
About the Author: Beth Dokolasa is a volunteer for Cat Care Society and served on the organization’s junior board. She is an instructional developer for Natural Grocers and lives in Indian Hills, Colo., with her husband, daughter, and two cats, Techno and Digit.
