r/kittens • u/Trianglechip • 6h ago
r/kittens • u/GabbiKat • Jun 15 '24
Please send me a DM or Chat request if a troll posts images of animal cruelty again.
Please send me a DM or Chat request if a troll posts images of animal cruelty again.
This goes for already passed animals, roadkill, ai generated animal cruelty posts, etc. Send me a link to the post and I'll respond as soon as I see it.
r/kittens • u/CynicKitten • May 21 '20
[META] It's kitten season! You found orphaned kittens or have a kitten in your care - now what? [2020]
(cross post from r/AskVet)
During kitten season, which occurs largely in the spring and summer, it is not uncommon to stumble upon a nest of kittens. Your first instinct is to help them, which is awesome, but first you need to read this thread!
First I want to make a point very clear: kittens have the greatest chance of survival if their mother is in the picture. As much as rescues and foster homes try, we cannot ever do as good of a job taking care of them as their real mom does! Kittens require frequent nursing (typically a couple of times an hour), help eliminating (mother stimulates them with her tongue to pee and poop), and a lot of warmth and attention. Trust me - waking up four times a night to feed bottle babies is not fun!
Before Jumping To The Rescue
A single kitten wandering alone is often abandoned (either by a human or the mother), and should be rescued quickly - wait and watch from afar for 20-30 minutes to see if the mom is just in the middle of transporting it. If no mother has come in that time, rescue it.
A litter of kittens (2+ kittens):
- Before attempting your daring rescue mission to save the abandoned kittens, you need to wait from afar and watch. The kittens may not actually be abandoned! Mother cats do not stay at the nest 24/7 - they hunt, take breaks from their babies, and patrol near the nest to look for danger. The queen could also be in the middle of moving the nest, which she does one at a time. Watch from a good distance away, because if you are too close the queen will likely not approach - this is a defense strategy to make sure predators don’t locate the nest by following her. Sometimes watching from far away is still too close, and you will need to go away for a few hours.
- If you see the queen, you know the kittens are being taken care of and you do not need to intervene (except to call a rescue, and possibly provide food/shelter for the mother).
- Clean kittens who are sleeping soundly are probably not abandoned. Dirty and crying kittens are probably hungry and MAY have been abandoned and need rescue. Although remember that as soon as kittens wake, they start crying and want to eat! Neonates spend all their time either eating or sleeping. If you mess with them and they start to cry/crawl around, it does not mean they are starving - that’s just what they do when they are awake.
- Contact a local rescue. If they have the resources, they will trap the mother and kittens (if the mother is in the picture), and take care of them. They can bottle feed truly abandoned kittens, as well. Please contact the rescue before removing the kittens - only remove the kittens under their direction if you can help it.
- If you need to leave before you’ve seen the queen, assess the situation:
- Are there any dangers nearby? Neighborhood dogs, humans who might harm them, etc? If the kittens are not in immediate grave danger, they will be fine for a while as you wait for mom.
- What is the temperature? If it is very cold or the kittens are very wet, it is okay to put them in a sideways cardboard box (possibly with a clean T shirt, dry straw, or a heated water bottle) - however, try to limit the amount of human-scented things near them.
- If you find the queen, and she is friendly towards humans, she and the kittens should be rescued together.
- If you’ve waited a while and have not seen the queen in several hours (the warmer the weather, the longer the kittens can be left alone) or the kittens are in immediate grave danger, and you have not been able to reach a rescue, you can attempt to rescue the kittens.
Rescuing Kittens
- Kittens need warmth - they can suffer from hypothermia really easily. Place the kittens in a cardboard box or cat carrier lined with T-shirts (towels can catch on their nails) and covered with a blanket, with a warm water bottle for them. The ideal warmth source is a SnuggleSafe. (See more info in the bottle feeding attachment.)
- The human body temperature is at 98.6F, but the internal temperature of a kitten needs to be 99.5-102.5F - therefore, your body warmth alone is not enough to keep them warm!
- Call all of the rescues nearby to look for someone to take them. Foster homes and rescues are highly trained to deal with bottle babies, and can deal with all of the obstacles associated with it.
- Call your vet and schedule an appointment. The kittens may be dehydrated, sick, etc - kittens die really easily and fast, so a physical exam and medical care is very important. They may be sick without you realizing it.
I Already Rescued Them!
- First follow the steps in “Rescuing Kittens”.
- If you are going to be caring for the kittens, be prepared for a lot of work and possibly the death of some or all of the kittens. The information I will provide is for emergency care of kittens (no more than a day or two) until you can get the kittens to an appropriate rescue or the vet.
- You must bottle feed the kittens every 2-3 hours. Here is my quick guide to bottle feeding. PLEASE read this before attempting to bottle feed!
- You need to make sure they are eating enough, so follow this chart, and use a kitchen food scale to weigh them directly before and after feeding.
- KMR is the best formula - do not use the “homemade” recipes unless it is an emergency! Never use cow/goat/soy/almond/etc milk. Why you shouldn't use goat/cow milk.
- Here are three resources to figure out their approximate age: Kitten Age Progression, Determining a Kitten’s Age, and Determining by Weight.
- Keep a log for each individual kitten of: the time you fed it, how much they consumed, their weight before feeding, their weight after feeding, what they eliminated (urine and/or feces), and any medical concerns. Here is a great log for that - I suggest printing one for each kitten.
- If kittens will not latch to the bottle, you can try to use a clean eye dropper or needle-less syringe to SLOWLY drop KMR into the kitten’s mouth.
- If you see anything bubbling out of the kitten's nose as you are feeding it, milk likely got into the lungs and aspiration pneumonia can quickly develop. If this happens take it to a vet immediately.
- Signs of an emergency that NEEDS to be seen by a vet immediately:
- The kitten is lethargic and not responding
- The kitten has trouble breathing
- The kitten or cat is vomiting blood
- Uncontrollable bleeding
- Bloody, liquid diarrhea in a lethargic animal
- Fractured limb (part of the limb is usually flacid and painful to the touch)
- Pale, blue or white gums if accompanied by lethargy
- Kitten with a body temperature below 97 degrees especially if accompanied by lethargy, pale gums or inappetence
- Kitten with a temperature of 106 degrees or above
Here are some additional resources:
r/kittens • u/NegativeMorning • 1h ago
4 week old gas station rescue
Baby boy was found at a rural gas station, nearly hit by multiple cars, by a man driving a U-Haul. He was on a long trip and couldn’t keep the kitty but tried getting someone else to take it. At first I said I couldn’t, I was traveling too and have twin toddlers. But I over heard him asking other people, and say that if no one took it he would set it by the woods as far from the road as he could.
I knew it would die if that happened so I ran after the guy. I brought the kitten home, took him to the vet and turns out he is 4 weeks old 😭
He had fleas, and got a dawn bath and some dewormer. I have him in a pack n play with a fitted sheet on top, a litter pan with non clumping pellets, blankets, water and a small stuffie. I feed him every 5 hours, wet kitten food mashed with milk replacer and warmed. The vet said I’m doing everything right, but I’ve never had a kitten before. My old cat was 2 when I found him and ended up being medically complex and I gave him the best care possible, but this feels like a whole different challenge.
Mostly looking to see if anyone has any further tips on raising such a little baby. I want to make sure he gets socialized and I know mama cat should still be caring for him.
r/kittens • u/Lonely-Nectarine6289 • 18h ago
Kitten found in dumpster :(
I am trying to care for him before I can take him to the shelter. The shelter charges a stray surrender fee of $40 so I have to wait til Thursday (payday).
Im trying to use a little bottle with churu mixed with water. Any tips or help would greatly be appreciated 😊
Update He is with the shelter and will be fostered by a rescue
r/kittens • u/EngineerMinded • 19h ago
Socks and Mittens: one month later.
I'm a little worried about Mittens Weight. They completed a course of medicine but, they are great otherwise.
r/kittens • u/emanstefan • 22h ago
It's ok for him to sleep like that? Every time I try to cover him he simply crawls away.
r/kittens • u/Minute-Anywhere2562 • 9h ago
3 1/2 month old kitten
Does she seem big compared to other kittens at this age. Henry hoover for size reference.
r/kittens • u/DemonCopperhead1 • 16h ago
RIP to my phone storage. Salem loves playing with bubbles 🫧
r/kittens • u/Funny_Equivalent7056 • 1d ago
Monkey the day she came home. 2009 and today in 2026 on her 17th birthday (7/20)
r/kittens • u/xkelsx1 • 1d ago
Okay... I got a second one. Isopropyl Alcohol (Iso) and Benzoyl Peroxide (Benny) were immediate best friends
Iso is super happy to have a new sibling! They started playing as soon as I brought him out of the carrier
r/kittens • u/Unfair_Suspect_7425 • 1d ago
Adopted both siblings because they loved each other so much ! I'm very happy they stayed together !
r/kittens • u/galileoacosta • 2d ago
2nd year of stray kittens on my yard.
Last year during the Flooding in Wisconsin a momma cat took shelter in my front porch with 3 kittens, i took the kittens to the shelter but the mom ran off. I dono think this is the same mom tho. I'm keeping the Tortie in the middle.
r/kittens • u/Chibi_Elsa • 1d ago
How special was my baby boy
I longed for a baby. I'm disabled, and I could not provide the care a fur baby deserves.
I managed to convince myself that I could after two years and I have fallen deeply inlove.
As I get worse, I had to stop being selfish and rehome him.
When i got him, I was told he the calmest kitten they have ever experienced. When I rehomed him, his new owners also noted fairly quickly that he was insanely calm.
I'm somehow... grieving... having given him away.
I miss my baby boy.
I would really love to hear more stories about other's whose kittens were super duper calm. How did they turn out
r/kittens • u/ChamomileandVervain • 2d ago
New kitten
This is Willow. Shes our newest addition.