As the school year begins, local animal shelters are seeing a decrease in volunteer numbers, coinciding with a surge in the need for foster care, particularly for kittens. Sacramento's Front Street Animal Shelter currently has around 600 kittens in foster care, and about 50 more arrive each day.
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Lesa Saville, a dedicated foster volunteer, has taken in cats nearly 200 times and enjoys mentoring new fosters. She started fostering after her children left home, finding fulfillment by caring for animals in need. "It's like, for that one person you're gonna save a life and give that person a cat," Saville remarked.
Foster volunteers are crucial during peak kitten season, with shelter staff member Sofia Ruelas emphasizing the urgency of placements for these animals: "Now we have 600 kittens in foster care and have about 50 coming in daily, so urgent placement is needed to get ready for adoption."
Kittens under 8 weeks old cannot stay at the shelter and require foster homes for feeding, socialization, and care until they can be adopted. New foster volunteers receive training on various aspects of animal care, including bottle-feeding, supported by experienced foster parents like Saville. The shelter supplies necessary materials, although foster care for young kittens can be demanding.
Saville mentioned the joy of the work: "They need us so much. But you love these animals with unconditional love. They need us. You know, without us they wouldn't survive," she said. Her primary role is simple: "You feed them and love them until it's time to adopt them."
Front Street Animal Shelter does not require previous experience to become a foster volunteer and offers free training sessions. For those unable to foster, the shelter also welcomes donations of food and blankets and features a Doggie Day Out program, allowing volunteers to take a shelter dog out for the day.
The Front Street Animal Shelter is located at 2127 Front Street in Sacramento and is currently in need of volunteers to help care for many adoptable animals. The Sacramento SPCA is also seeking volunteers to support its operations.