Almost every woman has attended or hosted a baby shower, which is both a popular (and practical) way to raise money, gifts, and necessities for parents with new arrivals on the way. Now animal rescues are tweaking this traditional format in preparation for “kitten season,” which swamps U.S. shelters with baby felines during spring and summer months. After all, shelters need blankets, milk, medicine, food, toys, and other supplies to keep these fur babies healthy, happy, safe, and warm – just like parents expecting human babies.
Photo: Flickr/ aparna ag
Red Dog Farm, an animal rescue network based in North Carolina, is one of the latest rescue organizations to join this burgeoning trend. In collaboration with The Crooked Tail Cat Café, a cat café in downtown Greensboro, the non-profit organization will be hosting its first “kitten shower” on March 15, 2020.
“We thought it would be a lot of fun to host a ‘baby shower’-themed cat party in hopes of getting lots of donations, both monetary and supplies, to help us with the influx of kittens and cats we get in the spring and summer,” Red Dog Farm’s executive director, Lauren Riehle, told Fox Carolina.
Photo: Flickr/London looks
These $15 tickets include 90 minutes in the kitten lounge, appetizers and desserts, fun games, playtime with cats, and lots of snuggling. And of course – just like at a regular baby shower – it’s really poor form to not bring a present. Organizers have provided a gift “registry” inclusive of cat beds, litter boxes, toys, treats, blankets, and other essentials on Amazon.com.
Of course, the party’s highlight will be watching adorable kittens try to unwrap the presents. “Volunteers will wrap your donations and we are going to have lots of fun seeing our foster cats open up the gifts,” organizers wrote on Facebook. “What cat doesn’t love wrapping paper and boxes?”
Photo: Flickr/abcrumley
Gifts can be mailed directly to Red Dog Farm at 8653 NC Hwy 65 Stokesdale, NC 27357 or – if you happen to live in Greensboro – dropped off at the Crooked Tail Cat Cafe or Sedgefield Animal Hospital and Dental Center. Local residents are also invited to buy gifts at All Pets Considered, a pet supply and gift store in Greensboro, NC, and leave them for organizers in the shop. Monetary donations are also welcome.
Luckily for organizers (and for stray kittens!) there has been plenty of interest in Red Dog Farm’s inaugural kitten shower. Organizers have already added a second time slot to accommodate the growing guest list, and the remaining tickets are going fast. Buy yours ASAP if you live in the area and would like to attend!
Photo: Flickr/Joana m
If you love kittens but don’t live in Greensboro, NC, don’t sweat, because it’s easy to host your own kitten shower! “We don’t have to tell you that kitten season is one of the busiest times of the year for shelters, but the good news is there’s a way to make it a bit easier—and have fun in the process,” the ASPCA wrote on its website. All you need is a wish list, food, drinks, party supplies and decor, and promotional materials, according to the Jacksonville Humane Society (JHS) in Florida, which has already hosted several successful kitten showers.
“A kitten shower has the potential to recruit more foster families and become an annual event that your community will eagerly anticipate,” ASPCA wrote on its website. We couldn’t agree more!
