Pet Food Express, a pet retailer with locations in California, has launched its annual, month-long Kitten Season awareness campaign dedicated to helping 83 nonprofit rescue and shelter organizations with the influx of kittens and the related surge in demand for help that kitten season causes. Though April 28, pet owners can visit or walk into any of the 66 Pet Food Express stores to participate in the kitten season campaign. There are three ways to affect the thousands of California kittens in need of a new home, according to Pet Food Express officials:
1. Adopt: Pet Food Express will help animal-lovers find a local rescue or shelter. Plus, the company will provide suggestions on the best food and care products to give the kitten to support a longer, healthier life.
2. Foster: Join Pet Food Express’ Rescue Reserves— a database of foster families—to become a foster home and get matched with a local rescue with needy kittens. Once a person or family signs up, their information is made available to the network of more than 139 rescue and shelter partners through the Rescue Reserves program.
3. Give: 100 percent of owners’ financial contribution goes to purchase supplies like food, litter, and toys for local rescues and shelters to continue their amazing work of robust foster, adopt and spay/neuter programs.
“Kitten season puts serious strain on California’s animal rescue network from April through November,” said Megan Kniepkamp, community manager for Pet Food Express. “The single biggest way to help is by fostering. Every pet in a foster home means that two lives are saved: the pet in the foster home and the pet who takes their place in the shelter. And, especially for pets who have certain medical needs, who have been abused, or who just need a little extra love and attention, a foster family can mean the difference between going on to a happy lifelong home through adoption or struggling to come out of their shell and being seen as unadoptable.”
In 2023, Pet Food Express Kitten Season campaign collected and gifted over $217,430 in product donations to participating local rescues and shelters. Additionally, Pet Food Express provides free resources and actionable “How to Foster” guidance for kitten fosters on its blog, The Pet Owner’s Handbook.
Kitten Season is one of several community impact programs Pet Food Express runs yearly, along with Fill the Food Bank, Pet Fair and Holiday Shopping Spree, among others, officials said. The company extended more than $1.3 million in financial support and facilitated the adoption of thousands of pets, from the smallest kittens to loving senior dogs from its 2023 community impact programs. Pet Food Express is proud to support California’s animal rescue network through its Community Outreach programs, officials added.