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There they LOSANGE L ES— were, felines clinging to life, Laney, Quirky, Koko, all babies without Mama in sight, scooped into the palm of human hands to be soothed, stroked and fed around the clock.

“Not everyone understands how hard it is for newborn kittens. They have to eat every two to three hours. We weigh them before and after. We make sure the conditions are just right for their nurturing,” says Kara Odenbaugh, pointing to the heating pads tucked under the critters’ blankets and stuffed animals — simulating Mom — adorning each kitten’s crib.

Odenbaugh, who oversees the kitten nursery at Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Mission Hills, cradled one kitten weighing 177 grams, barely one-third of a pound. Laney, the size of a Twinkie, sported gray fur reminiscent of a soft sweater and struggled to keep her eyes open while sucking on bottled formula. At almost 2 weeks old, she and seven siblings would have no chance of staying alive without the workers’ vigilance.

Inside the spotless neona- tal unit, these kittens are sur- vivors of a larger battle being waged in the No-Kill Los Angeles movement. Led by Best Friends Animal Society and partnering with local shelters, it is a passionate coalition of animal welfare groups seeking to transform Los Angeles into acitywhere,byyear’send, no homeless pet has to die.

“We are absolutely committed to changing the landscape, to educate and inspire the public and to create chances for each animal,” says Marc Peralta, executive director of Best Friends in Los Angeles. That mission involves organiz- ing countless spay and neuter clinics so that fewer animals end up in shelters, while increasing adoptions so that more animals find homes.

At the nursery, preparation begins in the wee hours with what NKLA supporters call the “most vulnerable” of their charges, newborn kittens, yawning through their feedings.

“We think of kittens as ador- able and so easy to adopt. But the newborn requires 24-hour care, and they’re most likely to be put to sleep since they demand huge resources,” Peralta adds. “If it weren’t for this nursery — if it weren’t for our incredible partnerships with so many groups across this vast city — we would never be able to save these babies or achieve our goal.”

Achieving the “no kill” goal by year’s end would make Los Angeles the nation’s largest no-kill city and a model for other cities.

In 2012, the year NKLA launched, only 57.7 percent of cats and dogs left city shelters alive, with 18,000 cats and dogs euthanized. By 2016, the number of euthanized pets dropped to 3,236, an 82 percent reduction.

NKLAreportedan86per- cent save rate through July 2017. (Reaching 100 percent is impractical, as some ani- mals must be euthanized in part because of incurable illnesses.)

“It’s incredible that the goal is in sight,” says Brenda Bar- nette, general manager for Los Angeles Animal Services, which operates six city shelters but lacked funding in its nearly $23-million budget for a seventh location in Mission Hills — until Best Friends stepped in with its resources.

Best Friends “has been an amazing, amazing partner,” Barnette said. “We simply focus on the work, and they really stress customer service, planning and more planning. They are so strategic.”

Animal rescue supporters say your energy and activism at the grass-roots level can help close the gap as L.A. works toward achieving no-kill status at its city shelters. Here’s how you and your family can get involved:

It can be as simple as scrolling through the web- site or Facebook pages of your local animal shelter or rescue group, and highlighting crit- ters up for adoption on your own Facebook wall or via your Twitter or Instagram feeds. For the holidays, you can call attention to the group’s wish list.

When hosting family celebrations, share the cheer by requesting charitable donations instead of gifts.

A child might set up a collec- t ionboxathisorherparty for toys, dry food, treats or leashes. After the gathering, youngsters can pack up donations and deliver them to a shelter, learning more about how it operates.

Bring a Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop to local shelters.

And before your field trip, collect donations and view online tutorials showing how to turn your old T-shirts into tug toys. Earn a service patch for your work.

Volunteer at your local shelter, and find out what kind of help it needs.

Perhaps you can walk or exercise rescue dogs or help socialize cats. Children can also practice their skills “reading” to shelter dogs: Many encourage it as a way to socialize animals, promote the human-pet bond and help children brush up on their reading skills.

Choose your favorite animal charity on smile.amazon.com,

and a portion of your purchases will be donated to that group. If you shop at Ralphs, register your rewards card online at Ralphs.com, and the animal welfare charity of your choice will earn community funds. Then, nudge your family and friends to do thesame.

Get your pets fixed.

Free spay and neuter vouchers and discount coupons are available at L.A. city animal shelters. Each household is eligible for discounts for three dogs and three cats. Go to LAAnimalServices.com for details.

Always remember: Adopt, don’t shop.

If you have your heart set on welcoming a family member of a specific breed, there’s an animal rescue group that specializes in it. Search online.

Tug-of-war, a favorite game for many dogs, including mine, Teddy, isn’t a favorite with all trainers.

Some believe the game can create aggressive behaviors.

Still others believe there are possible advantages.

After consulting the expert s,Isaw the game’s potential for Teddy.

It depends on my family — our willingness to teach Teddy how to play tug-of-war correctly.

The internet is full of suggestions on the best way to play tug-of-war w ithadog.

Jolanta Benal, www. quickanddirtytips.com, says the first rule is teachingthedogar elease command.

If the dog starts to get aggressive, telling him to drop the toy stops the game and the behavior.

Teddy is not aggressive by nature. He’ll usually give up a toy easily. If n ot,acarrot stick or dog treat will do the trick.

Jenna Stregowski, www. thespruce.com, writes thatdogsmaygrowl when playing. That’s an instinctual reaction. The game is stopped if the dog’s growl becomes aggressive.

Teddy’s usually doesn’t growl during tug-of-war.

He’s more of a strategy player. The pooch tries to moveuphisgriponthe to ysohisoppo nent will loosen his.

Finally, Susan Paretts of The Daily Puppy website (www.dailypuppy.com) says the owner starts the game not the dog. Owne rsmayw ant to give their dogs a cue or permission to grab the toy to start the tugging.

We play a hybrid version of tug-of-w ar,orthe “fetch-shake-tug-chew” game.

The game starts when my husband Ed, daughter Jordan or I wave the toy in the air.

Teddy excitedly runs to that person. He is told to wait. Then the toy is thrown.

When given the OK, the pooch goes after it like laser-guided rocket.

Teddy pounces on the toy and then prances back to one of us tail, wagging, rump wiggling, and toy shaking entire way.

Ed’s usually Teddy’s first choice. Alpha male nonsense.

When the prancer reaches Ed, he tells his “boy”todropit.

When Teddy does, the toy is presented to him again and the tugging begins.

Teddy grips the toy as if his life depended on it.Edpulls the pooch all overtheroom.

The minute Ed loosens his grip or looks away, Teddy springs i ntoac tion.

The clever lab uses one of his front paws to push t hetoyc loser to the floor.

He’lltrytomovein adiffer ent direction to loosen Ed’s grip.

When Teddy gets the toy away from Ed (we usually let the dog win), he’ll strut around the room shaking it in the

Then the game is started all over again.

I’ll admit it’s a weird game. But my family doesn’t like going down a straight path, and neither d oesTeddy.

After we finish the game, the toy is inspected, and if it is chewed to pieces, it is unceremoniously thrown out.

We can do this because my 86-year-old mom makes Ted dy his “fetchshake-tug-chew” toys. We haveadrawerfi lled with them.

And as long as Teddy’s “grandmom” is willing to keep him well stocked with the toys, we’ll continue to play our version of the game. the air.