{"id":784284,"date":"2026-05-09T13:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T13:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/784284\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T13:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T13:07:17","slug":"in-animal-shelters-newborn-kittens-are-uniquely-vulnerable-this-workshop-aims-to-change-that-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/784284\/","title":{"rendered":"In animal shelters, newborn kittens are uniquely vulnerable. This workshop aims to change that. \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was about 17 years ago that Hannah Shaw found a black kitten stuck in a tree in a Philadelphia park.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t know how to care for the little cat, which had one of its eyes sealed shut with an infection \u2014 but her friend advised her not to bring it to a local animal shelter, where it could be euthanized<\/a> for its young age. So she adopted it and named it Coconut, or Coco for short.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the classic story \u2014 a kitten rescued after getting stuck in a tree \u2014 and it could have ended there. But for Shaw, the moment set her life on a new track, one focused on helping especially young kittens that require around-the-clock specialized care.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Coco) was my best friend for 15 years,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cShe\u2019s the reason that I opened my eyes to this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaw is now the founder of the Orphan Kitten Club, a San Diego-based nonprofit she started in 2016 dedicated to providing kitten resources to animal shelters around the country, including funding for staffing, kitten formula and medical treatment.<\/p>\n

This week, Orphan Kitten Club partnered with the San Diego Humane Society for a three-day workshop for 11 animal shelters to learn techniques for caring for newborn kittens up to eight weeks old, the time in a cat\u2019s life when it\u2019s most vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\"AA kitten looks through its crate as part of Kitten Nursery Training Week at the San Diego Humane Society on Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

In 2025, neonatal kittens \u2014 under 4 weeks old \u2014 accounted for the largest share of cat deaths in animal shelters in the U.S., at 29%, according to Shelter Animals Count data<\/a>. Weaned kittens, from 4 to 8 weeks old, accounted for another 21%.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis population has been categorized as unhealthy and untreatable,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cSo Orphan Kitten Club exists to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Shaw rescued Coco, she became her neighborhood\u2019s go-to whenever a kitten was found in need \u2014 so much that she was dubbed \u201cthe kitten lady,\u201d a name that has stuck over the years. Entirely self-taught and with a degree in psychology, she\u2019s written several books and offers educational materials on kitten care on her website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Orphan Kitten Club\u2019s workshop at the Humane Society this week provided participants an education on several subjects, including how to bottle-train kittens without mothers, tactics for preventing and treating diseases and how to build engagement with foster families for the kittens.<\/p>\n

\"JackieJackie Noble, executive director of Orphan Kitten Club, takes a closer look at a kitten as part of Kitten Nursery Training Week at the San Diego Humane Society on Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Such kittens are a challenging demographic to care for, Shaw explained. They need to be fed every two hours, and some are so dependent they can\u2019t regulate their own body temperature. They\u2019re especially susceptible to infection, and their rate of decline is faster than an adult cat if they do get sick \u2014 so keeping them in a clean environment is also important.<\/p>\n

That can be easier said than done, especially at a shelter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn animal shelter is where a lot of sick animals go,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cWhen a baby kitten comes in, it\u2019s kind of like bringing your newborn to a music festival.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the Orphan Kitten Club aims to teach animal shelter staff how to support young kittens and give them the best chance at life.<\/p>\n

Kitten season \u2014 when the most kittens are born \u2014 typically lasts during the warmer months from the spring through fall, but in San Diego it can be year-round thanks to the mild weather, Shaw said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really interesting city for kittens,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have some of the highest need but also some of the best resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HannahHannah Shaw, left, helps a volunteer with giving a kitten fluids as part of Kitten Nursery Training Week at the San Diego Humane Society on Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

On Thursday, tiny kittens at the San Diego Humane Society\u2019s kitten nursery were curled up close together, sleeping. A one-week-old kitten, her eyes still shut, snuggled up to her mom, an orange tabby named Nurse Dana that was brought in as a stray. Other larger kittens played with their toys.<\/p>\n

The kittens can\u2019t be adopted until they\u2019re eight weeks old, so until then, they have to either stay in the nursery or be fostered by a community member.<\/p>\n

Fostering young kittens can be a game-changer since they need regular care and it gives them the chance socialize with other cats.<\/p>\n

Shaw encourages people to sign up to be fosters \u2014 and to call local organizations like the Feral Cat Coalition to come spay and neuter cats in the community to address the problem at its root. \u201cThere\u2019s too many coming in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She hopes the Orphan Kitten Club can expand to a point where the work isn\u2019t so needed. She says she does it less for the love of cats \u2014 she doesn\u2019t like cats any more than any other animal \u2014 than to serve as a bridge to get the kittens stable.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about recognizing a vulnerable state that somebody is in,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce you get to 8 weeks, it\u2019s all smooth sailing. So it\u2019s like building this bridge to get them there. That\u2019s what it\u2019s about for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NewbornNewborn kittens seen during Kitten Nursery Training Week at the San Diego Humane Society on Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was about 17 years ago that Hannah Shaw found a black kitten stuck in a tree in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":784285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,728,50,3549,7264,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-784284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-local-news","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-top-stories-sdut","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116544775956136090","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}