A Caboodle of Kittens

Knock, knock. Who's there? Kittens. Lots and lots of kittens!

There are so many cute young cats at LifeLine Animal Project this summer that the rescue and advocacy organization is hoping some kind hearted folks will open their doors to them and foster some for a short period.

This caboodle of kittens at LifeLine needs some time in a home environment in order to build social skills and also the immunity they lack until they get a little older.

The streets are a harsh place for baby animals, a place where they often don't survive. A shelter is so much better but when animals are very young they are very susceptible to disease. Many of the kittens available for adoption or foster are still in process of getting a series of preventative vaccinations, which take place over a period of weeks.

The kittens in the shelter come from seemingly everywhere. 

Nine were found living next to a building when a local apartment complex had all the property's bushes bulldozed down. The bulldozer almost killed them. LifeLine rescued them.

Three tiny kittens were found in a dumpster, starving, living alongside a dead sibling. LifeLine rescued them.

Four of them, now named Diamond, Peanut, Cracker Jack and Extra Inning, were dumped into someone's jeep at Turner Field during a Braves game. You guessed it. They're now at LifeLine.

Others came by way of a domestic concession from a husband to his wife. A couple living in rural Georgia was neither particularly pleased, nor very patient, with the stray cats and kittens who would come to live on their property. The husband was periodically killing the cats. His wife demanded he stop and LifeLine stepped in. He now brings the cats to town to be adopted rather than kill them.

"We need help in saving and raising these kittens," said Mickie Blair, who serves as the cat rehabilitation director at LifeLine's no-kill shelter located in Avondale Estates.

"We need short-term foster parents, people who will take some kittens for 2-4 weeks, we'd love some people who want to bottle feed some of these babies or be willing to give them medication, and we need people who can help some of the shyer kittens to get socialized and gain confidence so they will be adoptable and well adjusted," said Blair.

If you want to help LifeLine save the rescued kittens and aid in prepping them for a better future, or if you want to adopt a kitten or cat please contact mblair@lifelineanimal.org

In July teachers and school administrators/staff in Georgia can adopt for free as part of LifeLine's "Creatures For Teachers" summer promotion. Originally slated to only run for the month of June, the promotion was so successful it was held over for another month.

Veterans and active duty military personnel can adopt for free year around as part of LifeLine's "Pets Helping Vets" program.

All potential pet parents must fill out an application and meet certain requirements in order to adopt.

"Whether you foster for a short time or adopt a pet, you are helping these rescued pets to start a brand new life," concluded Blair.