Hannah Shaw - Tiny But Mighty: Kitten Lady’s Guide to Saving the Most Vulnerable Felines

I spend a lot of time in transit.

Working in so many different communities, Ive become accustomed to the monotony of travel: the long hours, the rigorous TSA inspection of my supplies (seriously, who travels with this much cat food?), and the small talk that occurs between strangers in airports and hotel lobbies. The question people always want to ask is, of course, What do you do?

When I tell people Im an animal advocate who specializes in kittens, the response is almost always the same. First, a facial expression falling somewhere on the spectrum between utter confusion and absolute delight. Second, a comment about how I have the most adorable job ever. Third, some variation of the following inquiry:

Do kittens really need advocates? I thought everyone loved kittens already.

I do my best to summarize with a smile, but the truth is that to fully explain the magnitude of suffering that kittens face and the importance of our efforts to save them would take an entire book. And so here we are.

In many ways, working with kittens is absolutely adorable. Im surrounded by fluffy little bobbleheaded dinguses every day of my life. I get to watch innocent beings grow and flourish. From the serene satisfaction of a babys first gentle purr to the bellyaching hilarity of a room full of pouncing micro-predators, working with kittens is truly an enjoyable calling. But it isnt their charming nature that inspires me to do what I do. To me, kitten advocacy has very little to do with cuteness, and everything to do with a great need for tangible change in the way we view, understand, and treat the tiniest and most vulnerable felines.

The truth is that kittens are universally loved in our culture, yet we kill them in epidemic numbers. Unweaned kittens make up a large proportion of feline euthanasias nationally; for many shelters, their deaths account for the majority of euthanasias. The general public is completely unaware that kittens under eight weeks old are one of the most at-risk populations in the US shelter system. Without public knowledge of these issues, we cannot empower people to get active and save kittens lives. We must start with a basic understanding of not just what is happening, but also why it is happening, and how each of us can take tiny steps to help solve this problem. We must unravel and examine this complex issue, rally the troops, and forge ahead toward a day when no kitten must die due to lack of resources or of community awareness.

For decades, millions of cats were being euthanized each year. Ill never forget when the 2016 national data was published and, for the first time in my rescue career, the number of cats dying in US shelters annually was fewer than one million. I wept with happiness to learn that we presently have national euthanasia rates of roughly 860,000 cats per year. Maybe it seems odd to celebrate that hundreds of thousands of cats are still dying in shelters, but seeing the number drop so dramatically over the course of my career has certainly given me reason to feel optimistic about a brighter future for cats, and to push ahead.

Its an exciting time to be an advocate, as things are truly getting better for cats all the time. Having rightfully won the adoration of the general public, cats are now being adopted in higher numbers than ever before. Roughly 37 percent of US households are now home to a cat, and while I obviously think that number should be higher (seriously, have you met cats? theyre pretty great), this is a huge achievement. More people than ever are discovering the joy of sharing life with a feline, resulting in a steady rise of cat companionship. As adoption rates rise, there is, in turn, a marked decrease in euthanasia.