HELP FOUND KITTENS
Are the kittens sick or injured?
Healthy kittens are:
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Clean and alert
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Free of discharge from the nose or eyes
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Have a round, smooshy belly/well-fed
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Content/sleeping if very young; playing and/or snoozing with littermates if older
Mom is likely close by. Avoid handling the kittens and watch them from a distance for 10-12 hours.
Sick/injured kittens:
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Dirty or covered in waste, fleas or flies
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Discharge from nose/eyes
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Visibly underweight
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In distress or medical crisis: vocal or lethargic
​These kittens may be orphaned and need medical intervention. Contact an animal welfare organization or shelter that can help you assess whether the kittens need intervention. If that isn’t possible, take the kittens to a veterinarian immediately.
Additional information about assessing health: https://www.kittenlady.org/assessment
How old are the kittens?
1-2 weeks. Eyes still closed or just beginning to open.
2-4 weeks. Eyes open and alert, becoming mobile.
4-6 weeks. Very mobile, often talkative, can eat food.
6-8 weeks. Very active and playful, weighs 1-2 pounds.
6-8 weeks. Very active and playful, weighs 2+ pounds.
Additional information about identifying the age of kittens: https://www.kittenlady.org/age
Also, determining sex: https://www.kittenlady.org/sex
How to weigh a kitten: https://www.kittenlady.org/weighing
Are the kittens safe?
Safe
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Mother or surrogate caregiver is present
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Family has food
Great! Leave kittens alone for now. When the kittens are eight or more weeks old they can be scheduled for spay/neuter surgery along with mom.
Unsafe
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Mom is not present/no one is caring for the kittens
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Kittens are exposed to extreme weather or hazards
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These kittens may need your help and you’d make a great rescuer. If you can’t foster them yourself, contact a local animal welfare group for guidance. ·
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For more information on caring for mom and her babies, watch National Kitten Coalition’s “Pregnancy and Birth-Caring for Pregnant and Nursing Cats and their Kittens” webinar and see resources Kitten Lady’s Kitten Care
Taking newborn kittens to your local shelter should be a last resort. Many animal shelters can’t provide the kind of around-the-clock care that kittens need. In fact, within a few hours of arriving at many shelters, young kittens are at risk of being killed.
The best way to help most kittens is to leave them with their mother, and then when they are more than eight weeks old, contact your local shelter for spay/neuter resources
Ask yourself:
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Are you or someone you know able to provide foster care?
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Does your local shelter have a lifesaving program that can help? (link to shelter locater)
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Can you access sterilization services for the family? (link to spay/neuter services list)
Basic care for kittens:
Fixing mom cat and kittens:
Mom cat should be fixed around the time when the kittens reach five weeks old. That’s the age at which they are less reliant on mom and should be okay with her gone for a night.
More information on trapping and fixing community cats can be found here: https://www.alleycat.org/resources/trap-neuter-return-for-community-cats-the-basics/.
A map of spay/neuter resources (clinics and voucher programs) can be found here: https://network.bestfriends.org/spayneuter-resource-map
The age at which the kittens can get fixed will depend on the requirements for the spay/neuter clinic or veterinarian you use. Typically, veterinarians will fix kittens when they are 2-3 lbs which is around 2-3 months old for healthy kittens. Check with your veterinarian for their requirements.
Preparing kittens for adoption: https://www.kittenlady.org/kitten-care-all/#preparing-for-adoption-all