A critical shortage of feline vaccines has sparked an urgent call for new foster carers in the region to house about 150 cats who will need safe places to stay.
The RSPCA ACT's chief executive Michelle Robertson said this time of year was kitten season and more fur babies were expected to be born in the coming weeks.
She said supply chain issues had led to fewer vaccines circulating in Australia and was worried it would leave new kittens vulnerable to infection.
She said housing the young animals together in the shelter would not be the healthiest option.
"We're calling it an emergency because of two reasons: a) it's kitten season and the volume [of newborns] coming through and b) because of the vaccine shortage," Ms Robertson said.
"The more foster carers we have, we can limit our numbers here at the shelter, the better our biosecurity and the health of our animals can be.
"This is why we are so desperate and really, really asking this time round."
Rise in number of cats needing foster homes
RSPCA ACT has about 204 cats in care at present while 98 remain on their surrender waitlist. Moreover, the animal rescue group expects up to 50 kittens to be born this season who will need carers.
"It's hectic," she said.
"In the last three months alone, we have taken in 56 kittens. That's just over 20 kittens a month. That's going to become even worse ..."
She said they had some capacity with existing foster carers but new carers would help lighten the load.
While cat mothers (also known as queens) would be fostered with their litter and don't need much attention, she revealed some foster carers had been dedicating "a lot of time" to newborns including hand feeding orphaned kittens every couple of hours.
"We want to be able to provide them with breaks as well so they can rest," Ms Robertson said.
How to become a foster carer
Anyone over the age of 18 with a safe, contained space for cats, and some free time for the animal can apply to become a foster carer.
RSPCA ACT has introduced and online induction course about feline foster caring to help educate potential carers who cannot attend a session during working hours.
"This is one of those innovations trying to make it more accessible for people that work [because] it's very difficult sometimes for people to take time off of work," she said.
"We hope that this will make it easier for people to sign up as a foster carer."
She promised foster caring would be a "very rewarding" experience.
"You [would] play such an important role in the life of this little vulnerable animal," she said.
"I hope that there's some people out there that have considered it before but never quite actioned that and maybe now is the time ... we really do need the help."
People interested in caring for an ophaned kitten, a queen and her litter, or an adult cat have been urged to sign up on the RSPCA ACT's website.
The needs of each feline are different and interested applicants are encouraged to read the foster care manual for kittens and cats.
- Visit rspca-act.org.au/cat-foster.
