Critter Club Again

Critter Club runs during the school year, and as we head into summer the club ends it's current session.  One of the projects the kids undertook was shooting a music video.  The project was inspired by a music video produced by the SPCA of Wake County in Raleigh, NC to the song by ABBA "Take a Chance on Me".   The Critter Club members saw that video, were enthusiastic about putting together their own and set about deciding on music and putting together choreography. 

After an entire meeting of listening to a variety of songs, the kids finally chose "Say Hey" by Michael Franti and Spearhead.  We all liked the idea that the song was about unconditional love -- something that fits in really well when we think about our pets. 

The video may not be professional quality, but the kids worked really hard at making it into something they could be proud of, and we rehearsed several evenings before we shot the final product. 

Another recent highlight of the Critter Club year was a few weeks ago when one of our employees. Jessica, allowed the kids to spend a bit of time with some 2 week old kittens she was fostering.   This is the time of year when we start to get them in, and many times they're too young to be away from the mother cat.  We greatly rely on foster homes that can hand raise them -- including bottle feeding every few hours and making sure they are pottied (very young kittes and puppies need to be stimulated by their mothers in order to produce urine and feces). 

Jessica was kind enough to show the kids how to feed and potty them, and then let the kids take over.  The kids were amazed by how small and dependent the kittens were, and really enjoyed caring for them. 

It's Kitten Season!

People who aren't involved in animal sheltering often laugh when I use that term. But it's a common phrase used by those of use who work or volunteer at an animal shelter -- especially in the northern climates where we actually have a winter.

While cats can have up to 3 litters a year -- up here in the great white north animal shelters get very few kittens in the winter. Part of it may be that un-spayed pet cats lucky enough to be kept in the house are less likely to go outside and get themselves in trouble. Part of it may be that the survival of outdoor kittens born in the wintertime is a long-shot.

Kitten season here in Wisconsin generally starts in March -- but don't stop in hoping to choose a kitten from several litters as we don't have many up for adoption. The kittens we're getting in right now are too young to be away from Mom. They're found by members of the community in sheds, under porches, and anywhere else that a mother kitten might think it's safe to raise a family. Most of the time they're brought in without their mother.

It might seem cruel for a baby animal to be taken away from Mom, but the reality is that it's better for the kitten. Most of the kittens being brought in are born to barn or feral cats -- felines that aren't used to interacting with humans and behave more like wild animals. If their kittens aren't handled at a young age they will become feral themselves.

We have a whole slew of human foster parents on stand-by waiting for kittens to come in. Our volunteers take them home along with kitten baby bottles, formula and heating pads to give them a chance at life. Foster parents get up for middle of the night feedings, worry about sick kitties, and occasionally cry over the ones who weren't strong enough to make it. But when the kittens reach 8 weeks and are old enough and strong enough to go up for adoption it makes it all worth it.

Stop in at HAWS in the middle of May -- that's when the kitten season for adopters begins!