Innovation Grant Funds Incubators and Foster Supply Kits to Help More than 600 Fragile Kittens
The Kentucky Humane Society (KHS), Kentucky’s largest animal welfare organization, has been awarded a $9,815 Innovation Grant from Orphan Kitten Club (OKC), the nation’s leading charitable organization dedicated to advancing kitten welfare. These funds will support KHS’s Warm Whiskers Project, equipping its medical and foster teams with lifesaving tools to care for the most fragile kittens.
Through this grant, KHS purchased three specialized kitten incubators that provide warmth, oxygen therapy, humidity regulation and breathing treatments to help critically ill newborn kittens survive and recover in a sterile environment. The project also funds standardized foster supply kits filled with essential items such as formula, bottles, scales and warming tools to ensure kittens in foster homes receive consistent, high-quality care.
In its first year, the Warm Whiskers Project is expected to positively impact more than 600 kittens through foster supply kits, and approximately 75 kittens will receive direct medical support in incubators.
“Receiving this grant from Orphan Kitten Club is transformative for our neonatal kitten program,” said Dr. Emily Bewley, Director of Veterinary Services at the Kentucky Humane Society. “Incubators will allow us to provide precise heat, oxygen and respiratory treatments. Combined with kitten foster kits, this investment will give hundreds of fragile kittens a stronger chance to survive and thrive.”
Neonatal kittens – ages zero to eight weeks – are the most euthanized feline population in animal shelters in the United States, accounting for at least half of feline deaths. The specialized skills, supplies, veterinary expertise and overnight care they require makes them uniquely difficult to care for on-site in many animal shelters. For this reason, shelters and rescues heavily rely on volunteer foster parents to assist in the care of this vulnerable population.
Led by a panel of experts in animal welfare, veterinary medicine and kitten wellbeing, the Orphan Kitten Club Mightycat program strategically selects partners based on their potential to create meaningful new impact for neonatal kittens. Following a bi-annual application period, the advisory panel thoughtfully allocates donor funds to partner programs that have proposed an executable and measurable plan to lower euthanasia rates, increase lifesaving capacity, enhance quality of care and/or contribute to groundbreaking research.
“Our Mightycat partners are shelters and foster-based rescues that are truly aligned with our mission to increase lifesaving programs for kittens under eight weeks old,” said Jackie Noble, Executive Director, Orphan Kitten Club. “We’re proud to partner with the Kentucky Humane Society to move the needle for neonatal kittens.”
