Over and above surrendered cats, at the height of the last “kitten season” (October 2024 to March 2025), RSPCA ACT cared for 627 cats and kittens who were living on the streets.

This kitten season, the RSPCA’s veterinary professionals, animal care staff and foster carers will be helping as many cats and kittens as possible to thrive, get desexed and adopted into good homes, says CEO Michelle Robertson.

“Kitten season” typically occurs during the warmer months when increased daylight hours and warmer weather trigger female cats to begin their breeding cycles. The gestation period for a cat is two months, and a female cat can have 18 kittens a year. Kittens born from a cat who has multiple litters, one after the other, are often in poor health and have higher mortality rates.

“It is heartbreaking and very stressful for our team when we see the littlest neo-baby orphans coming into care, or orphaned kittens who are so unwell that they can barely suckle or stand,” she says. 

“In an ideal world, no kitten or cat would live rough and left roaming on the street. 

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we did not have to see so many little kittens orphaned and unwell in the first place?

“We’d love to see cats contained in a safe home and desexed.

“If you discover a litter of kittens, the first thing to do is to call us. Get our advice, because we want to help you.

“Each situation is different which is why we want you to call us, but generally, a mother cat should be left to raise her litter and when they are about five weeks or older, that’s when you should bring them into our shelter.

“Not only will we try our best to get them all healthy, they also need to be desexed to stop the cycle of unwanted litters.” 

View the kitten season webpage here.