The Vintage Raven Kitten Haven continues to foster kittens through the pandemic

MT. PLEASANT - With the arrival of kitten season, the Vintage Raven Kitten Haven, Mt. Pleasant's primary kitten foster program, wants residents to keep a look out for strays.

Sam Riepe, who runs the rescue with his wife, Jen, said on top of everything going on with the coronavirus pandemic, they're working to make sure they have the facilities to care for incoming kittens.

'Generally, when you get to late April, you start seeing a lot of kittens being born,” Riepe said. As of last week, the couple were caring for seven kittens.

'We know there are more out there,” he added.

With the relatively wild winter, Riepe said the couple had expected an explosion of kittens with the warmer weather. Last year, throughout kitten season, the program fostered over a hundred kittens.

'We have not had as many as expected. I don't know if people aren't paying as much attention because they're bundled up indoors,” he said. Though the lower numbers mean less of a strain on their limited resources, Riepe said it's important for people to continue to be aware of stray cats in their area.

'Keep an eye out on larger populations, which are where kittens could be. Hopefully, if people know, they'll let us know when things are up and running again,” he said.

The couple, who also own and operate the Vintage Raven on the square, usually bring several kittens into the store for customers to check out and play with as well.

'We rely on that foot traffic for people to come in and check out the kittens,” Riepe said. The business owner added that they have already found homes for at least three of the kittens but are working to reach out to other potential adopters for the rest of the kittens. Because the foster program cannot hold their usual adoption event due to social distancing guidelines and precautions, those interested in adoption are encouraged to reach out to contact the program on social media directly for inquiries.

Before the pandemic, the couple was working on getting a trap, neuter, release (TNR) program going, an effort that has become more difficult as local veterinary offices have closed due to the public health issue.

'Most vets are closed down and not taking in animals. We haven't been able to get as much done as we wanted,” he said.

With the TNR program, the program hopes to set up traps to catch feral cats, spay and neuter the animals as well as nurse the cats into good health before releasing them again. Once things begin settling down again, Riepe hopes to encourage people to help with the TNR program and setting up traps, which could lead to fewer strays and ferals in the area down the line.