Ventura County launches Kitten Food Drive as hungry kitties arrive at shelter

A seasonal surge in kittens has kicked off a food drive at Ventura County Animal Services.

The county agency is seeking 2,200 cases of specific varieties of wet food to care for more than 1,500 kittens expected through November.

Kitten season usually starts after the spring mating season as temperatures warm up, said Randy Friedman, marketing manager for the agency. It sometimes arrives as early as March.

At Ventura County's shelter, the largest numbers of so-called "community animals" are cats, Friedman said. Community cats include a range of outdoor cats, some cared for by a person or group and some completely feral.

In other areas, dogs are sometimes the main community animal, he said. The county shelter doesn't handle wildlife.

On Tuesday, a litter of four kittens had just arrived in the late afternoon.

"They're coming in daily," Friedman said, with multiple litters now common.

The kittens are often underweight and too young to fend for themselves.

"They need to be fed every few hours or else they die," he said.

The municipal shelter doesn't have 24-hour staffing. Instead, trained foster parents care for the feline youngsters.

"Each kitten goes through quite a bit of food a day," Friedman said. "It's quite impressive."

The animal services agency has information online about what to do if you find a cat or kittens. In many cases, they don't need to be brought to the shelter unless they're sick, injured or old enough to be spayed or neutered before being put back out, Friedman said.

"Most of the time they just need to stay with mom," he said. The mother cat provides milk and fends off predators.

As of Tuesday evening, the agency counted 359 cases toward its goal of 2,200, the website showed. The shelter is requesting three varieties: Nulo Freestyle Turkey & Chicken grain-free pate in 12.5-ounce cans with 12 cans to a case; Purina Pro Plan Kitten Chicken & Liver Entrée in 3-ounce cans in packs of 24; and Blue Buffalo Tastefuls Chicken Entrée for Kittens pate in 3-ounce cans in packs of 24.

Orders made through the municipal shelter's Amazon wish list should be delivered to the Camarillo Animal Shelter, 600 Aviation Drive, Camarillo, CA 93010.

More information on the Kitten Food Drive, including a link to the agency's Amazon wish list, is at www.vcas.us.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County shelter launches Kitten Food Drive for hungry kitties