APA!'s Neonatal Kitten Nursery, affectionately called the Bottle Baby Program, is the first of its kind in the nation and began in 2009 in a trailer. The nursery is now located at our Tarrytown facility and is kept as a sterile environment open only to staff and volunteers to protect these tiniest lives — while we also now have a robust foster program, which expands our lifesaving beyond our shelter’s walls. This program saves over 2,500 kittens per year. Another 300-plus mother cats are cared for, as well.
Before APA!’s Neonatal Kitten Nursery, nearly all of the baby kittens coming into shelters were euthanized, because the shelters could not provide the intensive care these little ones need to survive. By feeding, treating, and providing shelter to kittens and families who would have otherwise been euthanized, our Neonatal Kitten Nursery fills the gap in the shelter community that is necessary to save the lives of thousands of kittens and cats each year.
