ACANA Pet Food Team Announces Nationwide Kitten-Cuddler Promotion an Underscores Need for Shelter Support During ‘Kitten Season’

This spring, when newborn kittens overwhelm shelters due to higher birth rates, the makers of ACANA pet food will support shelters and help cats start strong. These new arrivals need socializing and contact to get ready for adoption and shelters need extra support during this busy time. Recognizing this need, the brand is helping cats by increasing awareness of ‘kitten season,’ donating cases of wet kitten food to feed kittens in need across the country, paying one cat lover $10,000 to cuddle with kittens at Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of cats and dogs in America’s shelters by 2025 and encouraging others to volunteer.

When the need is greatest
‘Kitten season,’ typically May through November, is the time of year when un-spayed female cats have most of their kittens and an influx of orphaned kittens arrive in shelters needing care. Caring for them is labor-intensive, as many of them are without their mothers and not yet eating on their own and can strain a shelter’s space and resourcesⁱ but it is vital to each cat’s future.

To help these kittens get the best start, the team behind ACANA pet food is donating 5,000 cases of wet kitten food in April, equivalent to $250,000 at retail and 120,000 meals for kittens throughout the country. The team is also encouraging pet lovers to support their local shelter by adopting, fostering, inquiring about ways to give back and volunteering.

Are you the next Kitten Cuddler?
Cuddling and human contact promote healthy bonding and socialization skills to help prepare kittens for their forever homesⁱⁱ. As with human babies, developmental inputs early in a cat’s life make a lifelong difference. Plus, kitten cuddling is not only good for the cats – research indicates that people who interact with pets have significantly lower heart rates and blood pressure than people without petsⁱⁱⁱ.

That is why the ACANA pet food team will pay one cat lover $10,000 to cuddle with kittens. The ACANA Kitten Cuddler winner will spend half a day at a Best Friends Animal Society lifesaving center or network partner shelter this June and receive $10,000 for their efforts. To learn more and enter for this cuddly position, visit the ACANA website to answer a short questionnaire.

“We believe in the total well-being of cats,” said Billy Frey, Vice President, Marketing for Champion Petfoods. “ACANA pet food helps cats thrive through every stage of life and a cat’s earliest days set the tone for everything that follows. This program demonstrates our commitment to taking care of both the emotional and nutritional needs of kittens.”

Nutritious Food for Kittens
The makers of ACANA pet food support kittens through three great-tasting recipes designed especially for their dietary and developmental needs, all with high concentrations of quality animal protein: ACANA Wet Kitten Food, ACANA First Feast Recipe and ACANA Highest Protein Kitten.

• ACANA Wet Kitten Food, a premium chicken and tuna pâté, contains no grains and is made of 85 percent animal ingredients (approximate value and exclusive of water), including raw chicken, tuna, chicken bone broth, fish bone broth, chicken liver and salmon oil as the first six ingredients by volume. Its savory bone broth provides not only a burst of flavor but also important hydration.
• ACANA First Feast Recipe delivers high-quality protein from its blend of 70 percent animal ingredients (approximate and derived from the unprocessed state of the ingredients) to support kittens’ muscle and bone growth and development. Balanced Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids help support healthy skin and shiny coats, while taurine, EPA and DHA help promote healthy cognitive and retinal function.
• ACANA Highest Protein Kitten is a grain-free (produced in a facility that processes grains) formula with 75 percent animal ingredients (approximate and derived from the unprocessed state of the ingredients) to help support muscle and bone development, alongside taurine, EPA and DHA for cognitive development and eye health, with protein, fiber and a probiotic blend for digestive health.

Contest rules
Prospective Kitten Cuddlers must be U.S. residents aged 18 or over. They must love cats and have four hours available over one weekend during June 2024. There is no previous experience or purchase necessary but applicants will be required to pass a background check and cannot have an existing partnership with a competing pet food brand. Additional details and rules are noted in the terms and conditions here. Consumers can enter from March 27 through April 10, 2024, for a chance to be selected.