Kitten Björns: The Cutest Invention Ever!

Feral kittens, unaccustomed to human contact, need time to adapt to people before they can be adopted—but time is often limited for staffers of crowded animal shelters, who often need to multi-task to ensure all animals are equally cared for. This is where the ingenious “kitten björn” comes in.

“What’s a kitten björn?” you may ask. While you may not have heard the term before, you’re likely familiar with the Baby Björn, a carrier that can be strapped onto a parent, allowing for physical contact with the baby while keeping hands free. The convenient design allows parents to go about their day-to-day without foregoing the important physical contact that bonds parent and child.

Inspired by the Baby Björn, staffers at the Animal Rescue League of Boston applied the Björn design to work for feral kittens. The young kittens are cradled in the pouch of a hands-free “kitten björn” vest the staffers wear, so that kittens can safely adapt to human contact while shelter workers go about other tasks. According to the Dodo, kitten björns can have feral kittens ready for adoption after only 48 hours. Adorably, workers can tell the process is working when the formerly feral kitties start to purr. This insanely cute process not only helps to take kittens off the street and adopt them to forever homes, but it lets animal shelter staff multi-task and care for more animals. It’s a win-win we can’t get enough of!