KITCHENER -- Over the next few months, hundreds of kittens will come into the care of the Guelph Humane Society.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of their processes to change, but there are still many homes ready to welcome a kitten.
Theresa Daily is a feline foster for the humane society, helping kittens for an eventual adoption.
"Our job is not only to take care of them and help them grow, but to socialize them, to tell them that humans are wonderful," she explains.
She currently has two kittens, and is expecting more.
Normally she would socialize the kittens with the help of plenty of visitors, but because of physical distancing measures, she's not able to take that same approach.
Between May and August, about 400 kittens will come into the care of the Guelph Humane Society.
"Most of our kittens come in as orphan kittens, so they have somehow been displaced from mom, and so they're usually around three or four weeks of age," explains executive director Adrienne McBride.
"Right now we're averaging about one kitten a day, and then that number will just continue to increase as we get into kitten season."
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, people still want to adopt.
Now, the humane society is finding creative and contactless ways to make a match.
"We're arranging things like Zoom meetings with foster parents who have a pet in their home ready for adoption and potential adopters, so they can meet the pet online through an interactive video," McBride says.
Most of the kittens will be ready to adopt when they're between eight and 10 weeks old.
The Guelph Humane Society relies on the community's support to help cover the costs to care for them in the meantime.
