Help with Kitten Shower at Grayslake shelter
Submitted by Marc Portugal
Kitten season started early at Save-A-Pet; with the rescue of two pregnant cats that were dumped overnight on the adoption center's property in Grayslake. Now named Karmen and Karolina, both moms have since given birth to four kittens each, which means Save-A-Pet actually saved a total of 10 cats in this rescue. To kick off the annual “kitten season” and to celebrate the births of these eight new kittens, Save-A-Pet will host its 13th annual Kitten Shower from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 6, at the shelter, 31664 N. Fairfield Road, Grayslake. Children accompanied by adults are welcome.
“Sadly, situations like Karmen's and Karolina's are not necessarily uncommon,” shelter operations administrator Nicole Nedza said. “Two winters ago, several kittens were dumped at Save-A-Pet on Christmas Eve, in the freezing cold. We've even had owners try to dump cats in our parking lot while we're open for business. Abandoning an animal is one of the saddest circumstances we see, but having animals dumped on an adoption center property is still better than in a forest preserve or on the side of a road. At least it gives us a chance to save them. In this case, we saved moms and babies at the same time.”
Kitten shower activities will include games, raffles, live cat and kitten paintings, coloring, guest speakers, lunch and refreshments. Members of the public can meet other Save-A-Pet feline residents as well. Staff, volunteers and experienced foster families will answer questions about caring for newborn kittens in their initial days and weeks of life. Foster care is often crucial to the survival and well-being of newborns, who require constant and detailed attention including bottle feeding.
Save-A-Pet's annual kitten shower also serves as a fundraiser to support the care of incoming kittens. Donations of funds and supplies are appreciated. Requested supplies to support the care of the new kittens include “Snuggle Safes” (microwaveable heat disks), kitten nursing bottles, and kitten food. Other supplies that are needed include Tidy Cat litter, Pine Litter and Friskies canned cat food. Supplies can be purchased at pet stores as well as online via Amazon.com (donors can search using the keyword sapkittenshower). Direct links to all Save-A-Pet online wish lists can be found at www.saveapetil.org. Supporters who cannot attend the kitten shower can ship supply donations directly to Save-A-Pet.
For more information about the kitten shower fundraiser or information about fostering kittens and adopting kittens, interested parties can email #376; To submit Your news, send it to nbrcalendar@dailyherald.com.">sapkittenshower@yahoo.com;mailto:sapkittenshower@yahoo.com[/URL] or call (847) 740-7788. Save-A-Pet is one of the largest no-kill animal rescues in all of Chicagoland, and one of the very few operating a full-time adoption center. Save-A-Pet does not discriminate against age, health or breed when deciding whether to save a life. Since 1972, Save-A-Pet has saved more than 40,000 lives and has expanded thousands of families. Save-A-Pet is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization