“Right now we have about 50 creatures in foster care,” she said.

Chrivia said a litter may have as many as four or five kittens.

If five litters of five kittens each are brought to the shelter every day for seven months, the shelter could end up with as many as 5,250 kittens in need of homes.

Chrivia said that this year’s kitten season is off to an unusually slow start.

“It could just be a fluke, or best case scenario our spay and neuter efforts are paying off,” she said.

The Capital Area Humane Society, or CAHS, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1936 to ensure the humane treatment of pets.

The foster care program has been around for about 10 years, Chrivia said.

Pets are surrendered to the shelter for a variety of reasons. Some situations include a member developing an allergy to the animal, a change in the family, if someone is moving or losing their home, or if the animal is simply unwanted, she said.

With such a high rate of kitten births at this time of year, volunteers are scarce in relation to the litters in need of homes.

“There are about five or six students fostering animals this summer,” she said.

Kathleen Kramer, a special education senior, said she first became involved with the program last September when she and her roommate took in a litter of five male kittens and their mother. She said she has fostered a few litters since then, including the kittens she has now.

She decided to adopt a kitten a few months after she returned the first litter to the shelter, Kramer said.

“After the first litter was taken back, I was very depressed,” Kramer said. “I ended up adopting a kitten last Christmas that I did not foster. She’s very well behaved and we love having her around.”

The CAHS also provides refuge to dogs, rabbits and what they refer to as “pocket pets,” which include hamsters, birds and guinea pigs, all of which are waiting for a foster or permanent home.

“All of our animals are owner surrendered,” she said. “We cannot take strays.”

Chrivia said volunteering to be a foster care provider is a good way to try out pet ownership without the commitment.

Prospective volunteers who may be apprehensive about taking care of an animal should not worry, Kramer said.

“The shelter is very supportive, if you’re unsure of anything there are lots of ways you can contact them,” she said. “They’re very flexible.”

Kramer said there are some difficult aspects of fostering an animal.

“With the last litter of six, there were two really small female kittens, and Chrivia said they really didn’t think they were going to make it,” she said. “And they all had eye infections.”

The average duration of a foster stay is about three to four weeks, according to the CAHS Web site. But the amount of time and work involved depends on the needs of the animal being cared for.

An individual kitten without its mother requires regular attention and feedings, but a litter of kittens with the mother cat requires less care, said Erin Henry, development manager for CAHS. But in a situation like Kramer’s, the two unhealthy kittens required extra care, despite the presence of their mother.

“The two smallest had to be bottle-fed every two to four hours,” she said. “One of them had to be put down, because she had inhaled some of the formula.”

Chrivia said she has fostered and adopted several animals from the shelter and almost everyone on the CAHS staff of about 30 people has fostered or adopted an animal at some point.

She said she now owns four dogs and three cats, including the first cat she fostered, which is now 4 years old.

Henry also said she has fostered and adopted animals from the shelter.

“One summer I fostered about 20 animals,” she said.

Henry said it’s easy to become involved. Prospective volunteers can come into the shelter or visit the Web site and fill out a two-page application, which includes basic information like lifestyle and amount of time typically spent at home.

Applicants also must provide information on any permanent pets they may have and agree to allow a representative from the shelter to visit their home before being selected as a volunteer.

The shelter provides foster volunteers with all of the necessities, including collars, dishes, litter boxes, blankets, toys and free medical care for the animals. The only thing volunteers are asked to provide is food and kitty litter if they are fostering cats, Chrivia said.

Kramer said the shelter will even take care of foster animals for a few days if a volunteer has to go out of town.

Most foster volunteers absolutely love it, Chrivia said.

“It’s not very often that someone fosters just once, unless they adopt the pet they’ve fostered,” she said.

There are other ways to volunteer with CAHS that require less commitment, one such opportunity is the Family Program.

The CAHS Web site provides information about family volunteer opportunities, intended for families with children ages 8 to 15.

Families can apply to help out at the shelter together. Parents must provide constant supervision of their children and all people participating must attend an orientation and training.

The Tender Loving Care program, or TLC, is another way people can get involved, either as a family unit or as individuals.

TLC volunteers provide companionship to the animals by visiting them at the shelter and providing them affection while helping to socialize them.