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Shelter tries to keep up with hungry kittens Alice, a 14-week-old kitten, is among those eating up the kibble supply while they wait to be adopted at the Jackson County Animal Shelter. [Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch] Friday Jul 7, 2017 at 10:36 AM Jul 7, 2017 at 12:44 PM Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune While some would say “kitten season” seems like a year-round phenomenon, staff and volunteers at the Jackson County Animal Shelter are certain that numbers are either way up — or that some of the resident felines are feeding for all nine lives at once. A serious shortage of kitten food has officials on edge at the shelter, located at 5595 S. Pacific Highway, Phoenix. While they could — if necessary — spring for food supplies from the coffers of their already limited budget, doing so would limit availability of funds for medical expenses and other needs at the cash-strapped shelter. Shelter officials put a call out Thursday for dry kitten food — or adult dry food in small kibble size. While donations trickle in almost steadily, kitten food is donated less often. As of late Thursday, shelter manager Barbara Talbert tallied more than 50 cats and kittens at the shelter, with another 80 or more kittens dispersed throughout the community in various foster homes. One office employee referred to the influx of kittens as “a lotta, lotta, tiny little mouths to feed.” Talbert concurred. “We have very limited operating funds, and we’re at the height of kitten season, so our supplies are stretched thin,” she said. “We pretty much don’t have a budget for food, so we rely on donations, which generally come in pretty steadily.” Local retailers, including Walmart and PetSmart, donate damaged bags or returned product and hold food drives, which keeps the shelter's kibble bill at a minimum. While most of the donated supplies are used at the shelter, Talbert said, the shelter also provides volunteer foster families, upon request, with food for foster kittens to help offset the cost of fostering. “We try to provide food when we’re able. And we would be able to buy food if we needed to, but it might mean we wouldn’t be able to do as much in terms of medical care,” said Talbert. “Fortunately, we haven’t had to make those types of decisions yet. Our community usually comes through pretty well for us.” Shelter officials said donations of any dry food, preferably kitten food, would be gratefully accepted. For information on additional donations needed at the shelter, or for other info, call 541-774-6654 or see www.fotas.org/ways-to-give. — Reach freelance writer Buffy Pollock at [email protected].