PetSmart Charities Sponsors NYC Kitten Palooza! Workshops

New York City Feral Cat Initiative - Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

The 'Bottle-Feeding & Care of Orphaned Kittens' Kitten Palooza! workshop held in Manhattan on April 6 and May 6 included hands-on instruction. (Photo by Valerie Sicignano)

The "Bottle-Feeding & Care of Orphaned Kittens"

Kitten Palooza! workshop held in Manhattan on April 6 and

May 6 included hands-on instruction.

Photo by Valerie Sicignano

Home > NYC Eartips > Summer 2010 > PetSmart Charities Sponsors NYC Kitten Palooza! Workshops

PetSmart Charities Sponsors NYC Kitten Palooza! Workshops

by Valerie Sicignano, NYC Feral Cat Initiative

PetSmart Charities sponsored four Kitten Palooza! workshops in New York City this spring. The NYC Feral Cat Initiative (NYCFCI) presented the events, which included two sessions of "Bottle-Feeding & Care of Orphaned Kittens," instructed by Valerie Sicignano of the NYCFCI, and Dr. Tina Waltke of Manhattan Cat Specialists. Iris Lugo, volunteer at Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C), demonstrated bottle-feeding techniques at the first workshop. Another workshop, "Socializing Feral Kittens," was also offered twice, with instruction provided by Mike Phillips of Urban Cat League, and Valerie Sicignano.

Both workshops were held at the ASPCA and included film footage that showed examples of the workshop topics. The workshops featured techniques for beginners as well as experienced rescuers, and included everything a foster caretaker would need to know, ranging from information about parasites to good adoption screening procedures.

Several ASPCA volunteers, including Michael Stensgaard (right), attended the 'Socializing Feral Kittens' Kitten Palooza! workshop taught by Urban Cat League's Mike Phillips (left) and the NYCFCI's Valerie Sicignano. (Photo by Valerie Sicignano)

Several ASPCA volunteers, including Michael Stensgaard (right), attended the "Socializing Feral Kittens" Kitten Palooza!

workshop taught by Urban Cat League's Mike Phillips (left)

and the NYCFCI's Valerie Sicignano.

Photo by Valerie Sicignano

Several local trap-neuter-return (TNR) organizations, including For Animals, Inc., sent their new volunteers to the Kitten Palooza! workshops to be trained before they begin working with foster felines. In addition, a few in attendance were repeat participants who returned to learn the new information and tips that had been added to the workshops since the previous one. Many of the attendees went on to foster and socialize (tame) kittens.

Susan Richard, star and producer of All for Animals, attended one of the bottle-feeding workshops after hearing about it from a friend who attended a previous workshop before fostering a litter of newborn kittens for AC&C. Susan's coverage of the workshop and interview with the NYCFCI's Valerie Sicignano is included in All for Animals Episode 14: "Spring Into Action For Animals" (4:04).

About the Author

Valerie Sicignano is Director of Special Events & Training for the New York City Feral Cat Initiative and has been working with feral cats in New York City since 1990. She holds a Certificate in Humane Education from the ASPCA, and her work with animals has been recognized by the Manhattan Pet Gazette's "Animal Guardian Award" and In Defense of Animals' "Companion Animal Guardian Award."

Photos courtesy of Meredith Weiss and NeighborhoodCats, unless otherwise noted

NYC Feral Cat Initiative • c/o Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals • 244 Fifth Avenue, Suite R290 • New York, NY 10001 • (212) 330-0033 • info@NYCFeralCat.org