Spring means kitten season is in full swing! Catch up with The Critter Room and TinyKittens.

Goodness, kitten season has kicked off in a big way as seen through the live cams of The Critter Room and TinyKittens.

“What are live kitten cams,” you say?

It’s a real world view of kittens being fostered by people dedicated to their welfare. The cams come complete with chat rooms so you can get to know your fellow cat lovers. It’s a great stress reliever, community builder and kitten classroom where viewers can learn all about the ups and downs of fostering kittens.

Unedited reality

What if your kitten has the sniffles? What if those sniffles escalate to an upper respiratory infection that is so serious it’s life threatening?

This is what Foster Dad John of the Critter Room has been working through day and night with his Roswell Fosters. One little waif named Spock had to spend a week in the ER at the local vet to clear up his infection. John’s visits meant the world to this little fellow:

Life saver

Spock is still struggling with a herpes virus attacking his eye and has to wear a cone to protect it. But otherwise, he is thriving! John reminded his viewers that out in the wild, sick kittens like Spock would not have survived.

Live now!

Check in on the progress of these delightful kittens at http://livestream.com/FosterKittenCam. There you can meet the lovely mother cat, Ros (who talks to her toys), Spock’s brother Orion (he has a white tip like a star on the end of his tale) and the irrepressible Ziggy who is into everything. She is a beautiful blue grey.

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Meanwhile, over at TinyKittens …

https://www.facebook.com/PeopleForHappierCats/photos — Some of the feral cats that have been caught and spayed/neutered www.facebook.com/PeopleForHappierCats/photos

It’s never a dull moment over at TinyKittens Headquarters manned by super foster mom Shelly Roche. Roche is deeply involved with the care of a large feral cat community. Along with several dedicated volunteers, Roche captures pregnant cats so that their kittens can be raised in safety; these mothers are then spayed and either returned to the community or, if they can socialized, adopted out to a loving family. Males are also capture and neutered and hopefully socialized as well. The track record so far of feral cats being socialized is quite amazing!

Meet Skye

Skye is a feral mother-to-be attracting wide attention. She is going blind in one eye due to a herpes virus (and the other eye is threatened as well). She is due to deliver her kittens in about two weeks. Roche has been working extra hard to socialize this lovely calico so that she can eventually be adopted. Her chances out in the wild with blindness would not be good.

Progress!

Skye has only been with TinyKittens for a week and already much progress has been made as reported from the TinyKittens United Group on Facebook: “Skye ate out of Shelly’s hand, grabbed her finger, licked her finger and allowed belly rubs.” Check out this video of her breakthrough (Note: this video is unedited and a bit long – you may want to fast forward to see the results):

http://livestream.com/tinykittens/savina/videos/117327850

Skye is not the only feral–there are several others, some expecting kittens and some caring for kittens. Check it out on the TinyKittens live cams.

One overriding message

Both The Critter Room and TinyKittens urge all pet owners to spray or neuter their pets. As fun as it is to following the antics of these cute kittens, it is a reminder that these are the lucky litters. For every litter that is saved, there are many more where 75% of the kittens do not survive. John and Shelly are passionate in educating pet owners of the importance of spaying and neutering our pets.

You can support these groups

Go here if you want to find out more about TinyKittens and how to support them. They have many wonderful programs.

Visit The Critter Room’s Facebook page for more information on how you can support them through their sponsor, Purrfect Pals of Arlington, WA. One way to support them and to have a wonderful souvenir is to purchase The Critter Room Memory Book, a scrapbook I put together of various fosters from the Critter Room; the book costs $15.95 and $7.15 of that goes directly to Purrfect Pals.