Soft mews, fuzzy tails, and tiny toe beans — most of us can’t resist the cuteness of our smallest feline friends, and soon there will be more kittens than we’ll know what to do with…quite literally! Kitten season is upon us, and for animal rescues everywhere, this time of year presents its own set of unique challenges as we work hard to support the sudden influx of our tiny whiskered companions. Our local shelters are often already at capacity year-round, which means that kitten season requires us to ramp up our rescue efforts to meet the demand of this busy time of year!
So what exactly is kitten season? Kitten season occurs every year during the warmer months, when female cats are most likely to reproduce. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, kitten season typically lasts from about March through October. The gestation period for cats is only about two months, which means that intact community cats can potentially have multiple litters of kittens during this time of year — so it’s easy to see how kittens multiply quickly during kitten season, contributing significantly to the homeless cat population in DFW.
The efforts of rescue organizations like Dallas Pets Alive! (DPA!), and our dedicated fosters, volunteers, and donors play a major role in helping as many cats and kittens as possible throughout the year, but especially during kitten season when the number of cats in need is at its absolute peak.
Transformative Tails of Kitten Season
Meet some of our amazing mama cats and kittens that have been through our program! Their stories are a true testament to the life-saving rescue efforts we can accomplish with the support of our community.
Dumpling + Kittens
Dumpling was brought into the shelter at Dallas Animal Services (DAS) as a pregnant stray. During her short time at the shelter, she gave birth to a litter of 7 beautiful kittens: Wonton, Bao, Pierogi, Samosa, Gyoza, Matzo, and Empanada. One of our dedicated foster families eagerly stepped up to welcome this sweet family into their home, offering Dumpling a quiet and safe place for her to raise her kittens.
This selfless mama cat gave everything she could to her babies! While the kittens grew stronger every day, Dumpling encountered a bit of a health scare as her own weight began to dwindle while she was nursing. Her fosters worked closely with one of DPA’s vet partners to determine the cause of Dumpling’s weight loss and find the right plan to restore her health. Soon she was back up to a healthy weight and had the energy to play with and socialize her kittens, which was crucial to their development.
While all 7 of the mini-Dumplings have since found their forever homes, Dumpling herself is now a 4-year-old retired mama and still searching for her own happy tail.
Check out this resilient girl’s profile or apply to adopt Dumpling!
Peppermint
Peppermint was a stray kitten, brought into the shelter at DAS at just two months old. She was extremely malnourished, weighing less than a pound. Peppermint was also battling a severe infection in her eyes, as one eye protruded painfully, and the other had a melting ulcer — regrettably resulting in blindness in both eyes. Our team at DPA! sprung into action to help rescue sweet Peppermint, ensuring she would get the urgent medical care she needed and a loving foster who could care for her while she recovered.
The infection in her eyes was related to an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) and required a treatment plan including antibiotics and ointment to provide relief from her symptoms. URIs are unfortunately very common in stray cats, especially in kittens who are fragile and more susceptible to illness when they are exposed to the elements while living outdoors. Because Peppermint’s infection had progressed with such severity prior to her rescue, a double enucleation procedure was necessary as a permanent solution to ease her pain and help her heal.
Working with one of our partnering vet clinics, DPA! covered the cost of Peppermint’s medical treatment and surgery, and her incredible foster took care of this sweet girl while she recovered in the comfort of her foster home. She made a remarkable recovery, and we’re thrilled to share that Peppermint recently found her forever home where she can flourish as a healthy, happy kitten unphased by her blindness.
Dumpling and Peppermint’s stories are prime examples of the important roles that rescue organizations and foster care both play for nursing mamas and their babies, as well as orphaned kittens, during kitten season. Without the diligent care of their fosters and the support of DPA!, the health of both these wonderful cats would have continued to decline, leaving their lives at extreme risk.
Be a Hero for Our Whiskered Friends this Kitten Season!
We will have countless other cats and kittens coming through our program in the coming months, and we could use your help to save their lives! Continue reading to learn how you can be a hero for our feline friends in need.
Donate or Sponsor a Bottle Baby Kitten
Rescuing these kittens and helping them grow big and strong while they await their forever homes takes a lot of supplies! Kittens need special food with lots of calories to support their rapid growth during their early stages, and additional supplies are needed to keep them warm, clean, and healthy so they can thrive.
We need:
- Milk replacer formula
- Bottles and syringes
- Kitten food
- Heating pads
- Blankets
- Cat litter
- And more!
If you would like to support the kittens in our program this kitten season, we have several ways to donate:
- Sponsor a bottle baby kitten
- Gift an item(s) from our Kitten Shower wish list
- Donate via PayPal or Venmo (any amount helps!)
Become a DPA! Foster
Kittens require diligent around-the-clock care and need loving foster homes where they can grow in a safe and comfortable environment. Proper socialization is also key for kittens during their growth stages, to help train their behaviors early so they can become wonderful companion animals and find their forever families once they are ready for adoption.
DPA! is a foster-based rescue organization, which means the amount of cats and kittens we can take into our program is dependent upon the number of compassionate foster parents who join us to help us save these animals’ lives. When you sign up to become a DPA! foster, our expert foster team will help match you with the right animal(s) to ensure the best experience for both you and your foster pet(s). Our team is equipped to provide all the support you need, whether you’re an experienced foster new to DPA! or you’re signing up to foster for the very first time!
Learn more or sign up to foster today!
Help Spay/Neuter Community Cats
The best way to help our community reduce the population of homeless cats going forward is prevention through Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR).
The goal of TNR is to capture intact adult feral and community cats using humane traps so that they can be safely transported to a spay/neuter clinic to get fixed and ear-tipped. An ear tip on a feral or community cat signals to members of the community that the cat has already been spayed or neutered. This is performed while the cat is under anesthesia, so they are not in any pain. Once the cat has recovered from their spay/neuter procedure, they can be released back outside to the location they were found.
In some cases, for example if the cat is injured, or if a nursing mama cat is found with her kittens, the cat(s) may be taken into a rescue program like ours to help treat them, and even assist with finding forever homes.
If you would like to help ensure that the community cats in your neighborhood are spayed/neutered, you can learn more about community cats or reach out to our Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender (PASS) team to request help with TNR resources.
Our life-saving efforts are made possible with the support of generous donors, fosters, volunteers, and all-around amazing animal advocates like you — thank you for helping us save the lives of cats and kittens in Dallas!
