Preparing for Kitten College
Bringing National Kitten College to your campus is an opportunity to strengthen your neonatal (those requiring shelter support before being eligible for adoption) kitten program, grow your foster network, and unite your community around lifesaving work. The steps below will help ensure your event is impactful, well-attended, and successful.
Identify Your Audience
To maximize impact, your event should include a broad cross-section of your community:
- All active kitten fosters
- Animal care staff (including intake, medical, and volunteer teams)
- Community members interested in fostering or volunteering
- Local rescues and neighboring shelters
- Inviting partner organizations helps build a coordinated, community-wide kitten safety net.
Promote Early & Widely
- Share event details through email, social media, and newsletters
- Invite local media and news outlets to cover the event
- This is an excellent way to reach new fosters, volunteers, and supporters while highlighting your shelter’s lifesaving efforts.
- Encourage partner rescues and shelters to help spread the word
Coordinate with Kitten College
To ensure a smooth and well-supported event:
- Notify Kitten College at least two weeks prior to your scheduled date
- Provide an estimated number of attendees so adequate training materials and supplies can be prepared
Plan for Two Core Presentations
Each Kitten College event includes two complementary trainings designed for different audiences:
Kitten College: Small Program, Huge Impact
Audience: shelter & rescue administrators, leadership, and staff
Focus:
- Program development and sustainability
- Building foster-based systems
- Scaling lifesaving impact without overextending resources
- Kitten basics and confidence-building
- Bottle feeding, environment, and daily care
- Supporting fosters for long-term success
Set The Tone
This event is more than a training—it’s a community call to action. Position it as an opportunity to:
- Save more kittens locally
- Support and empower caregivers
- Build partnerships that strengthen outcomes for everyone
