Shelters all around the United States are beginning to receive an influx of new residents due to the onset of kitten season. Each year the already overcrowded shelters will be overwhelmed by new kittens who are in need of constant attention. Orphaned kittens, as young as under a week old, often come into shelters. Because the kittens would not live overnight without being bottle fed every few hours their lives depend on the kindness of those working at the shelter, who are often willing to take the kittens home and care for them. Much of the population boom would be curbed if people spayed and neutered their cats and did not dump cats into the wild.
Our new research indicates that adult shelter cats are not at a disadvantage when placed in the home of a foster caregiver for either 1-night or 1-week. Cats were likely to be highly social at both the shelter and foster home and cats did not display increased fear or stress in the foster home. These results support the idea that adult shelter cats can be placed into foster homes with little welfare concern. This research was made possible by a grant from Maddie’s Fund®, #ThanksToMaddie.
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