PHOTOS: Humane Society turns loose playful kittens at events to encourage a new view of shelter life

August 14, 2026

Kittens at the Humane Society of North Central Florida crawl between ceramics tools and clay to watch participants create during a Whisker Workshop event at the facility in Gainesville on Aug. 8. (Photo by Natasha Holt for Alachua Chronicle)

Special to Alachua Chronicle

BY NANETTE HOLT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Curious kittens climbed around and over clay creations on Saturday, August 8, at the Humane Society of North Central Florida, purring and pressing dainty paws into participants’ unfinished works.

It was all part of the latest offering in the expanding Whisker Workshop series at the no-kill animal shelter at 4205 NW 6th St.

An adoptable feline at the Humane Society of North Central Florida leans into a scratch during the Pottery and Kittens workshop on Aug. 8. (Photo by Natasha Holt for Alachua Chronicle)

The sold-out class, dubbed Pottery and Kittens, paired two activities: working with clay and cuddling with cats. During the $65-per-person activity, representatives of Studio TM Ceramics of Gainesville coached students on how to build a shallow dish and form a cat sculpture to attach to it.

Meanwhile, kittens available for adoption sashayed across workspaces, weaving between projects and willingly offering paws be used for prints within designs.

A participant in a Pottery and Kittens class at the Humane Society of North Central Florida forms a playful, reclining cat out of clay on Aug. 8. (Photo by Natasha Holt for Alachua Chronicle)

The latest Humane Society class follows Kitten Yoga and is a prelude to the upcoming Painting with Kittens, said Franziska Raeber, the director of development.

And while bringing in a modest amount of income on a Saturday is helpful, it’s not the point, Raeber told the Alachua Chronicle.

More importantly, the classes provide a way to get new people through the doors to see that the shelter is a pleasant place for people and animals, Raeber told the Alachua Chronicle.

And if those new connections lead to donations, that’s a bonus, she said.

The facility’s operating budget is $3.8 million per year. About 70% of that is needed to cover the salaries of 55 people.

Most years, about 60% of the organization’s budget comes from donations, grants, estate gifts, and fund-raising events, Raeber said.

The rest comes from the organization’s spay-and-neuter services, a veterinary wellness clinic that offers low-cost care, and a thrift store, which sells donated items.

A kitten at the Humane Society of North Central Florida investigates pottery creations in progress during a Whisker Workshop event at the facility in Gainesville on Aug. 8. (Photo by Natasha Holt for Alachua Chronicle)

But beyond money, one of the organization’s biggest needs is for people willing to foster animals in their homes.

“That helps us so much with capacity, meaning we can take in more animals,” Raeber said.

Currently, about 80% of the shelter’s adoptable pets live with fosters, she said. And as a result, they usually “are healthier,” she said.

In 2025, more than 1,300 cats and nearly 900 dogs lived with fosters, and 1,106 volunteers clocked 23,572 hours.

That same year, the organization’s annual report shows, 1,148 cats and 435 dogs found their “forever homes.”

Grace Wilson, a nursing student at the University of Florida, cuddles with a young cat during the Pottery and Kittens class at the Humane Society of North Central Florida on Aug. 8. (Photo by Natasha Holt for Alachua Chronicle.)

‘Cutest way to spend a Saturday morning’

Grace Wilson, a nursing student at the University of Florida, said that before attending kitten yoga and the recent pottery class, “I didn’t even know where the Humane Society was.”

During the classes she attended, staff members “were so knowledgeable about the animals they had in their care and trusted everyone to hold and play with kittens freely,” Wilson said.

“It was such a fun way to learn about the facility and all the services they provide their animals, the scenarios they rescue them from, and how people can get involved.”

After leaving behind her finished clay creation to be glazed and kiln-fired for pickup later, Wilson joined other class participants on a tour of the facility. They saw where cats and dogs live, peeked into the veterinary clinic, and learned about other programs, such as Doggie Day Out.

That program is for people willing to give attention to a dog. They take the animal for an outing, such as a hike or even just home for an afternoon on the couch watching TV. Those outings are fun for people and contribute in a very positive way to the quality of life for the dogs, Raeber said.

Wilson said she looks forward to getting involved as a volunteer and telling others about the organization.

“The event was such a great time and the cutest way to spend a Saturday morning. I got to learn about all the good that the Humane Society does for animals in Alachua County and around North Florida.”

Feedback like that signals the classes are a success, Raeber said. Afterward, Raeber said, “One person said, ‘I always thought the shelter was sad. But this was such a happy place to be.’”

Communicating that message is a big reason for doing the workshops.

“Sometimes we have to lure them in with a fun activity,” she said.

Whisker Workshops have been filling fast, usually within 24 hours of being posted on social media. Sometimes, slots sell out within 20 minutes, Raeber said.

“Come and see what we do, see that all the animals that are here are safe, they’re in a good place,” she said. “And if you’re not in a position to adopt now, that doesn’t matter. There’s other ways to support us.”