I hope you're never in the position of dealing with a litter of abandoned kittens. However, if you've clicked on this article, you must be wondering what to do if you find a litter of kittens.
The first thing that you should do is take a moment to assess the situation. Calm down, take a deep breath and think for a minute. Taking a few moments to compose yourself isn't going to make anything worse for the kittens.
It is sickening to think that anyone would be heartless enough to abandon a litter of kittens. Sometimes it's easy to be sure they were abandoned. For example, if the kittens are in a box at the end of your driveway or in the middle of a long dirt road with no houses in sight.
Sometimes, it's not so easy. If the kittens are strays and were not actually abandoned, the worst thing that you can do is take them away from their mother. Take a few moments to assess the situation and decide what the best choice is moving forward.
What To Do If You Find A Litter of Kittens?
You've found a litter of kittens. What do you do next?
First and foremost, don’t take them away immediately. As I mentioned, the mother may be close by and the kittens' best chance of survival is by staying with their mother.
Look for signs that the mother is close by. Are their bellies full, are they clean, are they warm? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then the mother is probably close by looking for food or water.
Do not remove the kittens without looking for the mother. If the kittens seem to be okay, leave them where they are and find a quiet place to observe the litter. The mother cat may come back shortly, and being with her is their best chance of survival.
If the mother does not come back within a few hours and the kittens seem to be in distress or if you know for sure that the kittens were abandoned, call for help. You can contact your local animal control officer or a rescue organization in your area.
Be sure to get an expert’s advice before trying to care for the kittens. While your local rescue organizations may not be available 24 hours a day, there are emergency veterinary clinics in every state that will be able to give you advice on caring for the kittens until you can get them to a rescue facility.
NEVER feed kittens cows milk. See my video for homemade kitten milk replacer here. You can also buy kitten milk replacer at most pet stores.
Kittens are one of the most vulnerable populations in animal shelters. If you aren’t able to care for the kittens until they are old enough for adoption, contact a rescue group in your area.
If they can’t house the litter of kittens at the current time, they may have a foster parent in place that could care for the kittens until they can find new homes of their own.
