(estimated pets helped in 2011: 1,200)

The Bottle Baby Nursery Program is a creative approach to saving an entire class of especially fragile, homeless animals.  The program targets orphaned, unweaned kittens fated for euthanasia at Austin’s municipal animal shelter, the Austin Animal Center.

Each year, especially during the breeding season, which spans from March to October, the shelter is overwhelmed with orphaned kittens.  Prior to APA!’s introduction of the Bottle Baby program, nearly all of these kittens were euthanized because neither the shelter nor other groups in the community could provide the intensive care they need to survive.

Our goal in 2011 is to save every young orphaned kitten that arrives in Austin’s animal shelter.  This means increasing our intake nearly two-fold in just one year. While we saved 120 kittens in 2009 and 801 kittens in 2010, we intend to rescue 1,200 in 2011, the number the city shelter projects it will receive.

Saving so many kittens means a greater need for kitten milk, food, supplies, medicines and skilled care, as baby kittens can become very ill quickly and will die without swift treatment.  Please consider helping our groundbreaking and live-saving Bottle Baby program through volunteering, fostering, and/or donating!