FORT WAYNE, IN – Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control is launching a new life-saving campaign urging citizens to stop “kitnapping” unweaned kittens.

Kitnapping is when kittens are prematurely separated from their mothers (usually before 8 weeks of age) which drastically decreases their chance of survival. This often happens when citizens find a litter of kittens and immediately bring them to the shelter. We understand it’s in an effort to help, but more often than not it’s causing more harm when they are separated from their mother.

In 2021, nearly 2,100 kittens were brought to the shelter. Of those more than 420 died. Those deaths were largely due to kittens failing to thrive, a result of not getting the important immunity that their mother offers. So far this year nearly 80 kittens that will need to be exclusively bottle-fed have come to the shelter and into the foster program – 26 of which have come in the first 10 days of May.

FWACC is encouraging anyone who finds a of litter of kittens to first see if the kittens are healthy and well-fed. If that’s the case, their best chance at survival is to leave them where they are and let them stay with their mother until they are weaned – then they should be brought to the shelter to be considered for adoptions or the community cat program. If the kittens are in immediate danger, injured or appear underweight they should be brought into the shelter immediately. If bringing the kittens into the shelter is your only option, it is best to use a humane live trap to get the mother too so they can stay together.

The shelter is in immediate need of donations and fosters to help save the lives of bottle-fed kittens coming in each day. The foster program operates solely on donations and does not use tax-payer funds.

To learn more about how to tell if a kitten is healthy, how to tell their age, donate and to sign-up to foster click HERE. 

FORT WAYNE, IN – Reflecting on 2021, Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control continued to expand support programming to improve the quality of life for citizens and pets in the Fort Wayne community.

A pivotal change occurred in January that involved splitting the volunteer and foster coordinator position into two separate positions. This allowed the foster coordinator, along with the foster team, to focus strictly on the foster program and grow it to have a record-breaking year of lives saved.

The foster program expanded by 125 additional foster homes and saved the lives of 1,547 animals: up from 1,200 in 2020. The community’s willingness to help also allowed the shelter to save 180 neonatal kittens who require around the clock care.

This increase in the shelter’s foster program led to a need for increased adoptions, which resulted in yet another record-breaking year for the adoption program with 3,115 pets finding their forever homes.

The shelter completed the No Place Like Home Challenge in March which encouraged citizens of Fort Wayne to be proactive pet owners by ensuring their pets were microchipped, information was up-to-date, and they were familiar with what to do if their pet goes missing. This contributed to a notable Return to Home rate of 59% for dogs and 8% for cats. This may seem low, but it is significantly higher than national averages at 17% for dogs and 2.5% for cats, according to national database Shelter Animals Count.

In a continued effort to build a kinder, more humane community full of animal advocates, the shelter’s humane education team expanded their educational programs for children. Instead of two weeks of summer camp, six weeks are now offered, in addition to the creation of one-day fall, winter, and spring break camps.

As the largest open access animal shelter in Northeast Indiana, Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control has an immense responsibility to maintain public safety while saving as many lives as possible. FWACC cannot turn any animal away even if kennel space is full. 

This is what drives the shelter to become better every single day for the community and their pets. FWACC could not continue to have record-breaking years without the community’s support.  

In 2022, FWACC will strive to continue to be a positive resource for the citizens of Fort Wayne, the animals that have nowhere else to go, and for the animals in their homes where they are already loved.

Visit fwacc.org to learn more about Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control.

Animal Care 2021 Statistics:

• 10,686 animals (1,042 is wildlife) came to the shelter in 2021
• 1,908 animals returned to their owners
• 1,589 animals surrendered to the shelter by their owners
• 1,047 animals transferred to rescues/other shelters
• 918 Community Cats returned to colonies
• 3,115 animals adopted
• 1,551 animals sent to foster homes
• 200 active foster families
• 11,377 volunteer hours
• 291 active volunteers
• 2,472 animals euthanized at owner’s request and for medical or behavioral reasons
• $10,000 grant from The Kitten Lady – Orphan Kitten Club to support the foster program
• $1,500 individual kitten grant from Orphan Kitten Club to save Cece, a kitten who needed surgery on both of her eyes
• $25,000 grant from Best Friends Animal Society to cover the cost of additional life-saving staff and supplies for the foster program

Community Outreach Data and Highlights from 2021:

• Animal Control Officers responded to 19,123 calls for service
• Animal Control Officers responded to 1,822 calls of suspected animal cruelty and neglect
• Eight offsite adoption locations for adoptable cats that allowed more space in the shelter
• FWACC became Orphan Kitten Club partners
• 780 children participated in the shelter’s humane education programs
• FWACC staff witnessed a reunion between a dog missing for eight years and his owners thanks to a microchip
• 34.87% of pet owners who made appointments to surrender their pet decided to keep their pet or rehome outside of the shelter after receiving services through FWACC’s pet retention program

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Roscoe came to us in a condition no living creature should ever have to experience. He was covered in fleas, mats, and feces and urine. He suffered from severe dental disease and had a heart murmur.

This little guy, despite all he had been through and despite his horrible condition, he was the sweetest little man and so full of love.

We got to work right away. We treated his fleas. We cut away his painful mats. We soothed his irritated, angry skin.

We were able to get him an appointment to get his severe dental disease under control. We were also able to get him in to a cardiologist so an adopter would know exactly what they were dealing with.

All of this is thanks to the amazing humans who donate to our angel fund.

Here is Roscoe in his adopted home. He knows love. He knows what it means to be part of a family. This is what makes it all worthwhile.

Click here to make a lifesaving difference for the animals in our care!