An unseasonably warm winter is leading to a bumper kitten season as animal shelters urge people to give the purr-fect gift this holiday by fostering stray pets.
The Lost Dogs Home's North Melbourne and Cranbourne shelters are getting dozens of young cats arriving pregnant and giving birth to litters this year.
The warmer winter season has led to un-desexed outdoor cats being more active and purr-miscuous, resulting in shelters being inundated with kittens.
Victoria's largest animal shelter is on the prowl for at least 250 new foster carers as the number of kittens needing assistance continues to rise.
There have been 489 kittens in care between August and October compared to 310 for the same period last year.
Carers provide temporary homes for cats and dogs recovering from surgery, undergoing behaviour training, are too young for adoption or need to extra loving.
The shelter has about 500 foster carers but expects that number to dwindle significantly as people travel in the lead up to Christmas, Lost Dogs Home spokeswoman Suzana Talevski said.
Being a foster carer comes with the rewards of having a furry companion without the long term commitment.
"Not only do you provide shelter pets with a temporary home to grow, rehabilitate and recover, you're also given a sense of fulfilment knowing you have played a special part in their journey to adoption and a forever home," she said.
The RSPCA shelters in NSW last week announced it would turn away stray and surrendered cats over concerns of a shortage of vaccines.
Victorian RSPCA shelters have paused the delivery of feline inoculations for its privately-owned cats in community outreach programs to prioritise its shelters.
