Live stream of Johnsburg foster home for cats goes viral (with video)

JOHNSBURG – When Johnsburg resident Chris Jansen started the Kitten Academy Live Stream on YouTube, he had no idea more than 2,000 people would be looking into his dining room at any given time.

Jansen started the video in April so people could watch the cats and kittens that he and his wife, Deepa Jansen, foster. Since then, the live stream has had more than 2 million views and 45,000 subscribers.

“The whole point was to provide a little bit more visibility,” Chris Jansen said.

The Jansens work with Crystal Lake-based organization On Angels’ Wings and Animal Outreach Humane Society of McHenry County to receive the foster cats, which often are pregnant, and to eventually put the cats and their kittens up for adoption.

On Angels’ Wings’ shelter can hold about eight dogs and 10 cats, but there are about 20 dogs and between 30 and 50 cats in foster homes, On Angels’ Wings animal welfare director Emily Huetson said.

“We’ve been a non-for-profit animal rescue for about eight years,” Huetson said. “We’ve always relied on fosters to help care for pregnant cats, pregnant dogs, kittens, dogs even.”

About 30 cats have gone through the Jansens’ home since they started fostering at the start of 2015, Chris Jansen said.

The live stream typically has an average of about 200 to 300 people watching at a time, he said, but starting about Wednesday, it spiked for an unknown reason to having viewers in the 2,000s.

Monday morning, there were about 500 people watching the cats and kittens sleeping, playing and cleaning each other from four different angles. The camera even has caught one of the cats, Ivy, giving birth earlier this month.

On the Kitten Academy website, Chris Jansen posts photos and descriptions of the animals’ personalities, including his golden retriever, Elsie, who helps the cats learn to socialize with dogs.

“Cats have lots of different personalities, and I think sometimes people just go into pet store or adoption agency and just pick up the first cat that looks cute and take it home,” Chris Jansen said.

Knowing the cat’s personality, however, helps ensure the cat is a good, long-lasting fit for the owner, he said.

Joyce Crosbie, co-founder and president of the Animal Outreach Humane Society of McHenry County, said the importance of making sure the cat’s personality fits with the owner is great because cats can live up to about 20 years old.

Crosbie said the nonprofit works only with cats and kittens, and does not have a shelter – all animals are placed into one of 22 current foster homes.

Living in a foster home environment makes for a better cat, she said.

“They don’t go through the stress of being in shelter,” Crosbie said, adding the cats become used to daily activities such as the sound of a vacuum cleaner and the touch of a human.

Through the live stream, Chris Jansen said, there have been benefits to the cats and people that he never imagined.

He’s received messages from people saying they pull up the live stream when they’re having a bad day, and messages of concern when people think they see a problem with one of the cats or kittens.

It wasn’t until people started reaching out online that the Jansens realized one kitten, Cobbler, had a head cold.

“In a way, it’s like we have thousands of people who are helping look out for these kids,” Chris Jansen said.

There are eight kittens up for adoption now, Chris Jansen said.

For information, visit http://kitten.academy, http://www.onangelswingsinc.org or http://animaloutreachsociety.info.