7 Things To Do If You Find Stray Kittens

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

http://www.care2.com/causes/7-things-to-do-if-you-find-stray-kittens.html

We've taken in 2 stray kittens through the years. What's suggested is pretty common sensical.

We kept both of them much to our delight.

[F4lconF16]

1. I think you might want to check you link. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Thank you. Fixed it.

[F4lconF16]

3. Great article, thanks. nt

[REP]

4. Great article!

All of it is fairly easy to - even trapping and socializing feral adults. And it's so rewarding!

[RKP5637]

5. We have taken in two over the years and they lived very long fulfilling lives with

us and seemed forever grateful. They were adorable and extremely loving as were we with them.

[Panich52]

6. Glad you posted this. Was gonna this morning but got sidetracked -- by my cat :)

[Warpy]

7. That's all great advice.

Kittens are weaned at about 6 weeks, although they still nurse for another 2, at least. By then, Mom is ready to go out and seduce another tom cat. If you see the kittens out and about, set about trying to trap Mom for neuter and release, if you can afford to do so. Street cat life sucks and they don't live long. Neutering will prolong her life and make sure there are no more kittens to suffer and die of cold and parasites.

Trap, neuter and release programs work to decrease the feral cat population while not increasing the rodents they keep under control.

I know people who have found kittens with the placenta still attached, the first kitten of a first litter when the cat didn't know what was happening to her, and have managed to raise the kitten to adulthood. The ones that survive are in the minority, though, and the 1-2 hour feedings around the clock had them banging their heads into walls after a while. If you find a nest of kittens too young to walk, it's best to leave them just as they are, check them a day later to make sure they haven't been moved and they're being fed. As soon as you see them running around, it's time to trap Mom and scoop them up for taming down.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. I came across one of the kittens on busy sidewalk. Still too young to walk.

We took it to the vet first. It was crawling with fleas and had an ear infection.

Then came the feeding with eye-dropper.

He grew up to be our most loving cat but was a bully to the others we had.

[BrotherIvan]

21. Thank you for sharing the information

If people are looking for trap and release, they may find an organization in their area that can provide free traps and free spay/neuter. The ears will be tipped. Neighbors may be hesitant or even hostile when you release a cat back to its territory, but it really does keep the population in check. Ferals once they reach a certain age cannot become house pets, but they do benefit from being fixed as you say and lead much healthier and more comfortable lives without fighting all the time for males or having litter after litter for females as well as being attacked while in heat.

[roguevalley]

9. I have two lovely sweeties that were strays. I lurve me some kittehs. :D

[joeybee12]

10. Very good ideas and very timely...

It's kitten season again!

[Codeine]

11. We found this little guy as an extremely feral, wild kitten abandoned by his mother.

A little taming, some good food, many baths and flea treatments later;

[BrotherIvan]

20. What a gorgeous cat!

He is one lucky boy.

[Codeine]

22. He is pretty elegant.

He's about sixteen weeks old, we think, and he seems to have a fair bit of Siamese going on.

He's still at the Killer Kitten stage, however. Basically asleep in my lap or in total attack and destroy mode.

[friendly_iconoclast]

25. A Snowshoe! I had one, they are the Jack Russell terriers of cats

I obtained mine under similar circumstances (not weaned and needed to be bottle-fed).

As a result, I was 'Mommy' all his life. He was a handsome cat and specialized in terrorizing
large dogs. Stewie Griffin had nothing on him- he once escaped by pushing our other cat
through a window screen and taking off. I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen him do it...

[Aerows]

12. Found a kitten in the parking lot

of the grocery store.

Took him home, gave him a bath and he is now the apple of the eye of the person that got "Buddy". She loves him more than anybody I've ever seen love a pet.

I would have kept him, but my own cat which is also a rescue, wouldn't stand it.

He is fat, happy and a house cat that piles up asleep (20lbs. can you believe it?)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. Our current cat from the shelter won't abide other cats either.

[Aerows]

14. She's not my cat

I'm her person.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Cats don't have owners, they have staff.

[Aerows]

16. LOL

Exactly!

[cwydro]

17. So true!!

[Oilwellian]

18. Rescued a feral kitten stuck under the seat of a golf cart

He's been with us for six years and is a beautiful, sweet kitty cat. Who wants to guess what we named him? Think South Park.

[seveneyes]

19. First thing to do upon discovery

Do no harm.

[csziggy]

23. Wonderful advice! Over the years I've found many strays

When I could I adopted them. A few were given to friends to adopt.

The first foundling kitten I took in was abandoned at a local restaurant in a place called "Five Corners" because of the five roads that came together there. I have no idea where the kitten came from - he had taken refuge inside a BBQ grill. The only way I found him was by his crying - his voice was about ten sizes too big for him! It earned him the name "Cacophonix" - from the bard in the Asterix comics. He grew up solid black and was the most affectionate kitty that lived with me for many years.

Another foundling came from a small church near where a friend had a serious accident. My husband and I stopped to look at the accident site. While he walked the road to look at the skid marks, I stayed in the truck. Over the sound of the engine and air conditioning I heard a kitty calling. When I opened the door, a tiny tabby kitten jumped into the truck and climbed into my lap. Another friend who stopped at the church for the same reason had the same thing happen - a small kitten called and called until they let it into the vehicle. They also took their stray kitty home. Ours became our barn cat, though she promoted herself to a house cat when the weather was bad. She kept our barn mouse free for years. We named her Horse Cat because she loved the horses and we'd find her curled up in a stall next to a sleeping horse.

Some strays were dropped off at our farm - a litter of kittens was dumped in the ditch in front during a drought. Fortunately one of my clients found them - they kept all but the smallest who I adopted. She was a tiny cat, only weighing about seven pounds when she was full grown. Talia died early from a heart defect but she was a sweet heart for the few years we shared with her.

Another kitten showed up and tried to climb one of my client's horse's legs. The horse, a sweet tempered Holsteiner, stood stock still as this miniature feline, much smaller than one of his hooves, tried to sink his claws into the skin of the giant horse. Since he couldn't reach to the hairline of the hoof, he wasn't making and progress. My client got off, picked up the kitten and brought him to me. It was the week of Bob, the first hurricane named for a man, so that was his name. Bob died in my arms at 14 years of age.

My husband's cat, Edmund was found on the side of a highway by a client who brought him to us since she knew we'd take him in. He was covered with fleas and dehydrated but that little ball of fluff grew up to be a massive long haired cat with the sweetest temper. Eddie lived to nearly nineteen years of age and slept every night with my husband and me.

In addition to taking in lost kitties, we make sure they are all spayed or neutered. I don't take our foundlings to the shelter - I figure if they found us, we were meant to keep them and give them good lives.

[Codeine]

24. Cacophonix. What a fantastic name

for a wee, loud beastie.

Especially when they decide to sing the song of their people at 4am because they've decided it's dinnertime.

[csziggy]

32. Oh, yes - it fit him perfectly

Well, it might have fit him better if he had been a ginger, but other than that it was great. Cackie was coal black - at first I thought he was just covered with ashes, but once I got him home and gave him a bath to get rid of the ashes and fleas he was a glorious, shiny black with no white at all.

[Skittles]

27. to catch this kitten living in the bushes outside my apt

I ordered a feral trap over the internet, then made my neighbor keep his fatass cat inside after I trapped him twice

I've had Riff Raff for going on ten years now

[dem in texas]

28. Stray Cats and dogs

We live at the edge of the city (for over 30 years) and have had many cats and dogs show up at our door after being dumped by their rotten owners. I have a fat calico cat sleeping on my bed right now. She showed up as a kitten about 5 years ago. My husband is feeding two feral cats that hang out at the edge of our property.

If kittens show up, I either keep them or find them a home. If I keep them I always get them "fixed". Also get shots for them. I had one bring feline leukemia to my cats. I did not know about this disease and lost two cats to it. One cat we found was hit by a car and the vet had to amputate one of her rear legs. She didn't know she was disabled. I Kept a window open up stairs and the cats would climb the tree and go in and out the window. The 3-Legged cat climbed the tree just like the four leggers. She lived to a ripe old age.

Same for dogs, we have lots of stray dogs show up. Same thing, we have kept some of them and the others, found homes for them. It breaks my heart to see an abandoned dog. One hot day, I found one beside the road, thin and totally dehydrated. I stopped at a store and got some water for it, then took it to a vet. The vet found a micro chip and called the owner and he said he did not want the dog back. I agreed to pay for the medical treatment for the dog. When the vet examined the dog, she found that it had been so hungry that it had eaten rocks. She said it was too far gone to save. Oh how I hate what people do to innocent animals!

[Heidi]

29. Kick!

[pansypoo53219]

30. i have caught strays in our yard if they were friendly. we have nip. one had to be a former pet, but

he was not claimed. sadly we could not take him. he was awesome. loved the drive to the humane society and to the other place. very distinctive hercule perot mustache. another cat. then the mommy cat who was friendly, got her 1st, then her 4 kittens w/ live trapped one by one. had other ferals. we are by a busy boulevard. NO KITTENS WILL DIE!!!

[LWolf]

31. We have a local non-profit

that uses vets volunteering their time to provide vaccinations, worming, and spay/neuter services at cost, which makes fostering strays and/or ferals more reasonable.

They are linked to another agency that works to socialize and adopt out.

I know this, since I moved in my place ten years ago in spring, and had to contend with a whole colony of feral cats and two litters of kittens.