Like most animal shelters, Fort Bend County Animal Services and Harris County Animal Shelter, both in Texas, see an influx of kittens each spring and summer. This is kitten season, and this year, these two Texas shelters were prepared with Alley Cat Allies’ Wait Until 8 program.

Here’s how it works: When people find litters outside and bring them to a shelter, the staff members, instead of taking the litters in, recommend that the individuals care for the kittens at home with Alley Cat Allies’ Kitten Care Kits. Once neonatal kittens reach 8 weeks of age, they can be taken back to the shelter to be spayed or neutered and put up for adoption.

The program maximizes the kittens’ chances for survival as kittens in shelters are at risk for illness and disease, or worse, are often killed due to the lack of resources or staff to care for them.

Alice Burton, associate director of Animal Shelter and Animal Control Engagement at Alley Cat Allies, provided her expertise to the two Texas shelters in February as they prepared to kick off Wait Until 8.

“It’s a solution the community can be part of,” says Kerry McKeel, a spokeswoman at the Harris County Animal Shelter.

The Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection in Roanoke, Virginia, implemented Wait Until 8 in 2017 after learning about it from Alley Cat Allies at a conference. About 15 people who brought kittens to the shelter have participated in the program in 2017, says Libby Carden, a shelter supervisor. “It saves the kittensand people are willing to help,” she says. “They just needed resources.”

In Canada, Morgen Manners, operations manager at the Lloydminster and District SPCA, began asking people who brought in litters if they would care for the kittens until they were 8 weeks old. The response was so positive that the Wait Until 8 program was implemented this year.

“A lot of people, as soon as I mentioned, “˜We can get you food, we can get you a litter pad,’ they were like “˜Oh yeah,'” she says. “It takes away that barrier that they have to go get supplies … and I think they felt they had more support.”

Barbara Vass, a coordinator for the Fort Bend shelter, also had high hopes for community involvement. “If we’re able to give them the guidance and resources to get started with the Kitten Care Kit, I think it’s going to have a big impact on people wanting to help,” she says.

Interested in providing kitten care? Volunteer with your local shelter, foster neonatal kittens, or encourage a shelter to start a Wait Until 8 program. Caring for neonatal kittens? See our easy-to-follow guide at alleycat.org/KittenGuide. Check out our Kitten Care Kit instructions at alleycat.org/KittenCareKit. Learn more at alleycat.org/WaitUntil8.

*This article was originally published in Alley Cat Action, Volume 28, Issue 3, Spring 2018.