Kitten Nursery Doing Incredible Work But Is In Need Of Volunteers

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Nov 9, 2020 10:00 AM EST

In New Jersey, when coronavirus cases were high and most of the state was sheltering at home, a little one-room NICU Kitten Nursery that has saved hundreds of little kittens had to close its doors.

nj.com reports that, since "[t]he space was too small to safely social distance," a veterinary technician with St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center named Friedman who was also the manager of the nursery and a vet tech called Nick Eckert "took the animals into their own homes to care for them." Dozens of kittens, many of them badly injured and desperately in need of help.

"It was very depressing that when we should have been celebrating our one-year anniversary, we were moving our nursery into our homes," said Friedman. "I was terrified that we would lose the program because of COVID-19. And I knew that because of COVID-19, it was critical to keep the program going." No one was popping in to help, and there was no team of volunteers coming in and out to help the kittens.

"I literally had kittens being dropped off at my house at midnight almost every night," Friedman tells nj.com "It was the hardest work I ever had to do because I was by myself."

Now, not only was their operation in their homes successful and they are able to keep helping the kittens, their nursery is expanding, so much so that they had to move the make-shift nursery out of their homes and into a bigger location - "three times the size - complete with 28 cages and multiple rooms to provide separate spaces for healthy, sick, and critical kittens."

The problem is that, even with more space, the nursery can't take in many more new kittens since they do not have the volunteer support that they need. "We can't run this program without volunteers," explained Friedman. So, now, they are looking for volunteers, and we hope that if you are in the area and are able to help, you would lend a helping hand to this wonderful operation and help them help these incredible kittens.

Read about some of the rescued kittens and their stories below! And if you're in need of more positive, happy-ending rescue stories, read about this feisty little owl that got its wings singed off in a fire.

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01

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Potbelly, a calico kitten, is bottle-fed by veterinary technician Samantha Friedman".
02

via Samantha Friedman

"In the photo on the left, a kitten who suffered severe brain trauma rests in an incubator after being brought to the home of... Samantha Friedman. Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The kitten, named Sandman, was in a coma, and Friedman had been working out of her home due to the coronavirus pandemic since early April. In the photo on the right, Sandman has come out of the coma but is blind and showing signs of neurological damage."
03

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Samantha Friedman... comforts a kitten as it receives medication through a nebulizer at the new nursery in Roxbury Township".
04

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Ivan was brought to the NICU Kitten Nursery at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center after Tropical Storm Isaias knocked out power to the area. The malnourished kitten, approximately three weeks old in this photo, had badly infected eyes, an extremely low body temperature, a runny nose, diarrhea, and was severely dehydrated. With the power out, Friedman had to use hand warmers inside an incubator to keep him warm until a generator was secured so she could use the microwave to warm up heat disks."
05

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Ivan, approximately six weeks old in this photo, is recovering from severe eye infections and other serious conditions at the NICU Kitten Nursery at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center's Noah's Ark campus in Roxbury Township, Thursday."
06

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Samantha Friedman comforts a kitten as it receives medication through a nebulizer in the new NICU Kitten Nursery in Roxbury Township."
07

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Kittens learning to eat on their own are covered in kitten gruel at the St. Hubert's NICU Kitten Nursery in Roxbury Township."
08

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Three kittens rest in a cat carrier — with a heating pad keeping them warm under the blankets — after arriving at the NICU Kitten Nursery."
09

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"A kitten receives subcutaneous fluids, which help keep it hydrated."
10

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"A kitten looks out from an incubator at the NICU Kitten Nursery at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center's Noah's Ark campus in Roxbury Township."
11

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Puck, who is paralyzed, gets a little playtime at the NICU Kitten Nursery... His back legs were rigid and hindering his ability to get around safely, so he has since had one of his legs amputated and is awaiting surgery to have his other leg amputated. Once he is healed, this very playful and happy kitten will be looking for a special human to adopt him."
12

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"NICU Kitten Nursery volunteer Jenn DeBrielle feeds kittens in the healthy hold room of the new nursery."
13

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"Samantha Friedman holds Lilo, who was transferred from South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter, in the new nursery... Lilo is currently in foster care with her brother Stitch and the bonded pair will be available for adoption following Lilo's eye surgery."
14

via Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"A kitten checks out a visitor at the NICU Kitten Nursery."
For more kitten's stories, head to nj.com.