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Too many cute kittens, so Humane Society has 'baby shower'

The Michigan Humane Society is flooded with kittens that are surrendered each spring and summer after the breeding season.
Credit: Kathleen Galligan, Detroit Free Press
Megan Hellie, 20 of Westland pets one of the two-week-old kittens available for fostering at the Michigan Humane Society Berman Center for Animal Care kitten baby shower in Westland, MI Sunday, June 10, 2018.

Dozens of animal lovers turned out for a Michigan Humane Society "kitten shower" in Westland Sunday to help find foster homes for kittens.

Children like Samantha Scott, 7, visited with the Human Society's kittens in anticipation of possibly taking one home.

"I want the black and white one," said Samantha, of Livonia. "They get playful and then when they get older they start to calm down a bit."

Credit: Kathleen Galligan, Detroit Free Press
Cake is served at the Michigan Humane Society Berman Center for Animal Care kitten baby shower in Westland, MI Sunday, June 10, 2018.  

The Michigan Humane Society is flooded with kittens that are surrendered each spring and summer after the breeding season. Cats must be at least 2 pounds for sterilization surgery, so the Humane Society needs foster caregivers to house the newborn kittens until they are big enough for pre-adoption surgery.

The Humane Society provides caregivers with all the necessary supplies during the kittens' foster stay.

Caregivers need "just the time and the heart for it and we'll give you everything else," Michigan Humane Society President and CEO Matt Pepper said.

The average foster time is six to eight weeks for kittens and 10 to 14 days for other animals.

Sunday's event also was a homecoming of sorts for local cat "Pawfficer Donut" of the Troy police department. The police mascot was adopted from the Michigan Humane Society's Westland location, site of the kitten shower.

Upon Donut's arrival, attendees gathered around to take cell phone pictures and watch it play.

While the event is designed to highlight short-term fostering, some people adopted young cats.

Jill Harlow, 27, of Westland, and her family had been looking for a new cat after one escaped in March during an apartment fire. They took home two cats today.

"It's really cool," Harlow said of the Humane Society event. "We've been looking for a kitten forever."

Those interested in helping buy supplies for Michigan Humane Society's kitten foster program can visit MichiganHumane.org/kittenregistry.

Contact Joe Guillen: 313-222-6678 or jguillen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @joeguillen

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