Well, apparently my warnings in last week’s column about the downside of an exceptionally warm winter have jinxed us. Winter is getting the last laugh, I guess. If the nor’easter predicted for Monday night comes to fruition, I hope everyone has taken precautions with any outside pets; keep in mind they have not been acclimated to winter storm conditions this year. Just like you and me, they’ll feel the cold more than usual and they’ll need extra food and good weatherproof shelter to protect them.
There is another storm occurring as I write this: Kittens are starting to pour into the South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter. One of our pregnant cats delivered seven kittens the other day. There is one delivering as I write this column; she is on her third kitten and still isn’t done. My vet tech just brought me a box of three 1-week-old kittens, which just came in without a mother, to ask what we should do. If you heard a very loud, strange, whooshing sound last Friday morning, it wasn’t the snowstorm … it was me sighing.
On March 7, we got called out to a house that experiencing foreclosure. Our investigator and the animal control officer responded and found 14 adult cats in the house. Two of the cats had litters: One mom had a couple of kittens about 2 weeks old, and the other had four kittens that were newborns. Of the other 12 adults, seven are females – and six of the seven are pregnant. I’m praying that we can get them out to rescue before we have even more to contend with.
At the moment, we’re having good success in getting our overflow of cats out to other shelters and rescue groups. So far, all of our nursing moms have either gone to rescue or are slated to be picked up by one. Unfortunately, this won’t last, as their foster homes will fill up very quickly at the pace we’re going now.
Our shelter is always in need of foster homes for cats and dogs, individual animals as well as litters. I am just finishing up with the litter of six puppies who were highlighted in this column last week, the last two will have left for their permanent homes by the time you read this. I didn’t get these pups until they were about 10 weeks old, and we only held them back for a couple weeks to get them treated for parasites and make sure they’re healthy for their spay/neuter surgeries. This was the oldest litter I’ve ever fostered and, I have to say, I really enjoyed having them. Their personalities were really starting to develop and the interaction was different with them than it is with younger puppies. During the two weeks that I had them home with me, you could see them becoming more and more focused on wanting human interaction and affection. The bond between dogs and people is truly amazing, and it was fun to see that developing even when they were still in the company of their litter mates.
If you are interested in participating in our foster program, this is the perfect time to come in and check it out. The season is heating up, no pun intended, and we really need your help! The next orientation is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 29.