Caring for Kittens
Orphan Kitten Project offers hands-on veterinary experience — and saves lives
Kaya Miller, a second-year UC Davis undergraduate, introduces her three 3-week-old foster kittens: Anna, Elsa and Merida. She explains that as a busy student, she and her roommate have taken on alternating shifts feeding and cleaning the kittens. “It’s a lot of dedication; we have to wake up every two hours, but it's so worth it,” she said.
Miller is a volunteer foster within the Orphan Kitten Project, or OKP, a nonprofit, vet-student-run club that has rescued and rehabilitated neonatal kittens since 1988.
Neonatal kittens, under 4 weeks of age, require specialized care, like bottle feeding and medical treatment. Fosters can help ease the burden on traditional animal shelters, and give the attention needed.