From the SPA
By Louella Peca

It’s raining kittens!

Not only is it the rainy season in San Miguel, at the SPA it is also raining kittens—26 of them by most recent count. Lately the story among cat volunteers has been:

 “You won’t believe it, but I took in more kittens today; the circumstances were terrible, and they are so healthy and cute…I couldn’t let them be thrown away.”

It’s true—all of the volunteers, including myself, find themselves in this situation now and then. So it was decided, as a rule, that the maximum number of kittens we can handle at any one time is 18. A week ago, at the end of my shift, I wandered through the kitten cages, took an inventory and came up with the correct number of 18. At that time, I was just content to enjoy these beautiful little darlings doing what they do best—play.

The next afternoon, however, another volunteer began lamenting some version of the “you won’t believe it” excuse and, with downcast eyes and a “shame on me” look, told us that she had taken in three more “adorable little kittens.” Then, the following day another volunteer…and another batch of kittens…and so it went.

For me, personally, the number was six. It all started early one morning with a frantic call from a neighbor decrying her fate that six tiny kittens had been left on her doorstep in a box. I could hear the little hungry cries in the background.

This lady is like many others here; she has no pets, travels a lot and has an on-the-go life. Anyway, the little babies desperately needed a mother and were not yet weaned, creating a very difficult situation for the volunteers. Someone would be called upon to foster these babies, feeding them numerous times during the day and night, with a bottle or a syringe. If you have children, you understand the task—constant feeding, caring and attention giving—and one is tough enough, but six?


Due to the large number of kittens needing feeding, the volunteers recently tried an interesting experiment. We had a mother cat with a litter at the SPA; her name was Gloria, and she was in the process of weaning her brood. We placed a recently orphaned new baby kitty in her cage and, much to our delight, she began feeding the new kitten as if it were her own. We decided to try one more time—we placed the six new babies with Gloria, and to the amazement of all, she came through for us.

As of today, the six happy kittens are receiving natural nourishment from a kitty surrogate mother, freeing up the volunteers to look after and socialize the remainder of the kittens and cats. Great news, but the downside is we are now way over our quota of precious kittens needing a good home.

So, to end on a positive note: please come by the SPA to see all our kittens and puppies, as well as a number of mature dogs and cats awaiting homes. The fee to adopt a kitten or cat is 250 pesos, and a puppy or dog is 300 pesos, which includes spaying or neutering. This is a small price to pay for the happiness that a pet can bring into your home. The SPA is located at Los Pinos 7, off Calzada de la Estación. Hours are 10am–4pm, Monday–Friday, and 11am–2pm on Saturday.