08/12/2026
🚨 SHELTER CAPACITY UPDATE: PLEASE HELP US KEEP KITTENS WITH THEIR MOMS 🐾🐱
Gilchrist County Animal Services remains at full capacity, and we are asking for our community’s help—especially when it comes to very young kittens.
Over the past week and a half, we have received multiple groups of kittens who are still young enough to require bottle feeding. Caring for bottle babies is an around-the-clock commitment. They must be kept warm, monitored closely, and fed every few hours, day and night.
❤️ If you find a litter of young kittens alone, please do not immediately assume they have been abandoned.
In many cases, Mom is nearby. Mother cats routinely leave their kittens for periods of time to find food, use the bathroom, or wait until people have left the area before returning. Taking healthy kittens too quickly can unintentionally separate them from the very person best equipped to care for them—their mom.
🐱 Before removing kittens:
• Observe them from a safe distance and give Mom plenty of time to return.
• Avoid hovering nearby, as your presence may prevent her from coming back.
• If the kittens appear warm, clean, quiet, and have full bellies, Mom is likely caring for them.
• If they appear injured, sick, cold, extremely thin, are in immediate danger, or you have reason to believe their mother is no longer able to return, please contact Animal Services for guidance.
Whenever it is safe to do so, the best place for young kittens is with their mother. Keeping families together gives kittens their best chance to grow healthy and strong while also helping prevent our already-full shelter from becoming overwhelmed with babies requiring around-the-clock care.
We know that when someone finds tiny kittens, their first instinct is to help—and we are incredibly grateful that our community cares. Sometimes, though, the best way to help is to watch, wait, and give Mom a chance to come back. ❤️
Please help us by sharing this message with friends, family, and neighbors.
📍 Gilchrist County Animal Services
1799 NW 10th Street
Bell, FL 32619
☎️ 352-463-4084
🐾 Thank you for helping us protect the smallest and most vulnerable animals in our community.
