Why We Occasionally Close Our Doors for a Day

Every once in a while, we make a decision that can feel a little inconvenient from the outside:

We close to the public for a day.

No adoptions. No visitors. No tours. Just our team, the kittens, and a building full of supplies, laundry, bottles, incubators, carriers, medications, dishes, kennels, and chaos that quietly builds during kitten season.

And while it may look like “just cleaning,” these days are actually some of the most important life-saving days we have all year.

Because when you care for fragile neonatal kittens, cleanliness and organization are not optional. They are medical care.

Tiny Kittens Have Tiny Immune Systems

Most of the kittens who come through our doors are incredibly vulnerable.

Many are:

• Under 5 weeks old

• Orphaned

• Malnourished

• Injured

• Recovering from illness

• Fighting infections

• Too young to regulate their own body temperature

A healthy adult cat can often fight off germs and stressors that would be devastating to a newborn kitten.

But neonatal kittens don’t have that protection yet.

Something as simple as lingering bacteria on a surface, cross contamination between litters, or a stressful overcrowded environment can quickly become life-threatening.

That means keeping our facility clean isn’t just about appearances. It’s about survival.

Kitten Season Moves Fast

During peak kitten season, things move at an almost impossible pace.

One emergency call turns into five. One litter becomes ten. Laundry piles up. Formula disappears overnight. Medical supplies get shuffled from room to room. We move quickly because lives depend on it.

And in the middle of all of that, clutter quietly accumulates. Because when you’re tube feeding every two hours, rushing a fading kitten into an incubator, or trying to stabilize a hypothermic newborn… organizing a cabinet sometimes has to wait.

These reset days give us a chance to pause before small issues become bigger problems.

Deep Cleaning Protects the Kittens

On these days, our team tackles the things that are difficult to fully address during normal operations:

• Disinfecting nursery spaces top to bottom

• Sanitizing incubators and medical equipment

• Washing walls, floors, shelving, and hard-to-reach areas

• Rotating and organizing supplies

• Checking expiration dates on medications and formula

• Reorganizing treatment stations for better efficiency

It’s not glamorous work. But it directly impacts how many kittens we can save — and how healthy they remain while they’re here.

Organization Saves Lives Too

When a kitten crashes, seconds matter.

You don't want to be digging through drawers looking for syringes. You don't want to wonder where a medication was placed. You don't want to be struggling to find supplies during an emergency.

A well-organized facility allows us to:

• Respond faster in emergencies

• Prevent mistakes

• Reduce stress on staff and volunteers

• Create smoother workflows

• Care for more kittens safely

• Train fosters and volunteers more effectively

Preparation saves lives long before an emergency happens. That’s something we believe deeply.

We Aren’t a Typical Shelter Environment

Our facility functions more like a neonatal ICU than a traditional rescue.

Around 80% of the kittens we take in each year are either:

• Too young to survive without intensive care

• Severely ill

• Injured

• Or medically fragile

That means we’re constantly managing:

• Incubators

• Oxygen support

• Tube feeding supplies

• Medications

• Quarantine procedures

• Strict sanitation protocols

• High-risk immune systems

A clean, calm, organized environment is part of the treatment plan.

Closing for One Day Helps Us Say “Yes” More Often Later

Sometimes the best way to save more lives tomorrow is to slow down for one day today.

These reset days help prevent burnout. They help us maintain safe standards. They help us operate more efficiently during the busiest months of the year. And ultimately, they help us continue saying “yes” to kittens who have nowhere else to go.

Because the truth is: life-saving work doesn’t only happen in the dramatic moments. It also happens in the quiet ones.

The scrubbing. The disinfecting. The reorganizing. The laundry. The restocking. The preparation.

Those things matter too.

And every clean incubator, organized cabinet, sanitized nursery, and decluttered workspace helps create a safer future for the next tiny life that comes through our doors.

Thank you for understanding when we occasionally close for these important reset days — and thank you for helping make this work possible in the first place.