235 Under-Aged Kittens Rescued Through Burlingame Shelter's Unique 'Kitten Nursery'

BURLINGAME, CA — After all the tragic news to befall California in recent weeks, here's something to brighten your day: Photos of a dozen happy, cozy and adorable kittens whose lives were saved thanks to the efforts of a Peninsula-based rescue organization and more than 170 volunteers.

Some 235 under-aged kittens' lives (or 2,115 lives if accounting for all nine belonging to each kitty) have been saved so far this year by the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, the organization announced Wednesday. They've all be rescued via the shelter's unique "Kitten Nursery," which first opened in 2008.

“Unfortunately many shelters do not have the ability to care for motherless and abandoned under-aged kittens since they require extra care and these tiny kittens would not be able to survive on their own,” said PHS/SPCA’s Communications Manager Buffy Martin Tarbox. “The life-saving work performed through our Kitten Nursery is part of the overall life-saving work of the Peninsula Humane Society. The lives of these 235 under-aged kittens are in addition to the more than 6,000 animals the Peninsula Humane Society saves each year.”

Previously, the record for lives saved at the Burlingame nursery was 204, back in 2015.

Tarbox said PHS/SPCA helps ease the burden of several other Bay Area and Central Valley animal shelters by taking in motherless young kittens, which all too often overwhelm other organizations. With help from one full-time staffer and more than 170 volunteers, the kitten nursery operates around the clock to care for the kittens.

“Our dedicated volunteers do everything from feeding and grooming to socializing these little kittens,” according to Tarbox. “Once the kittens reach two months of age and weigh two pounds, we spay or neuter them and place them for adoption at our shelter. To date, every one of the kittens that have gone through our Kitten Nursery has been adopted.”

Photos of a dozen kittens from the 2017 PHS/SPCA kitten nursery can be found above.

— PHOTOS BY: Peninsula Humane Society/SPCA