During cat breeding months, it is common to find an unattended litter of kittens alone in odd places. Unless you are sure that the mother cat has abandoned them, touching or removing them from their nest is not recommended.
As much as we want to save kittens right away, they need to be with their mothers in their first few weeks to give them a better shot at life. Kittens should be left with their mothers at least until they are four weeks of age to strengthen their immune systems and to make sure they are healthy.
However, it is also possible that they were left by bad owners or lost their mother due to a road accident. If you are unsure whether their mother is hunting for food or really gone, here are a few ways to tell if it is an abandoned kitten:
Check Their Appearance
When kittens look clean, plump, and well taken care of, their mother is likely to be around. Mother cats routinely groom their little ones until they are big enough to do it themselves. However, if they look unkempt, soaked in mud, or dirty, they have likely not seen their mother in a while.
Kittens that are sleeping like babies are likely to be safe in their homes. While hearing distressing sounds like incessant meowing may indicate fear, hunger, and coldness that you can help address.
Investigate Their Nest
The appearance of their nest can also indicate if the mother has been cleaning up after them. Despite living outdoors, cats are still very particular about their cleanliness. Abandoned kittens tend to be very messy and might be surrounded by urine or fecal matter.
Should their location put them in danger, such as making them prone to drowning in the middle of a storm or at risk of being attacked by predators, you can opt to move the kittens to a safer place. Be sure to keep them nearby so that the mother will still be able to find them at a later time.
Wait For The Mother Cat To Return
If you are still not sure if a litter is abandoned or not, you can attempt to wait and see if the mother cat will return. When hunting for food, mother cats temporarily leave their kittens alone in their nest. Despite being nearby, a mother cat will also avoid her nest if you stand too close. Be sure to stay a couple of feet away within view of the nest while making your observation.
If the nest is in an area where it is difficult to see the kittens from afar, leave some salt, flour, or anything that can indicate their mother passing by. When moving their litter from one location to another, mother cats tend to take some time. Additionally, mother cats hunt for up to several hours, so you should be prepared to wait for at least half a day.
What To Do When The Mother Cat Returns
Should the mother cat show signs of return, the best course of action depends on how old the kittens are and whether or not the mother is feral.
Friendly Mother Cats
Regardless of the age, if the mother cat is friendly, you may slowly integrate them into your home. After getting them cleared by a veterinarian from illnesses, you can proceed to helping them adjust to your house, family members and other pets.
The mother cat will be able to provide the necessary care such as feeding and grooming until they are old enough to be rehomed. Once it is already safe to do so, it is best to spay the mother cat to avoid any future unwanted litters.
Feral Mother Cats
If the kittens appear to be very young and belong to a feral mother, it is best to leave them alone. Should you not find it in your heart to leave them alone without doing any help, you can opt to give them some sort of dry food nearby to help with the mother cat's nutrition for breastfeeding. Alternatively, you can also provide shelter like a box or carrier in hopes that the mother cat will use it.
At around six weeks, the kittens would have had enough time to get enough antibodies from their mother cat's milk to be healthy. At this age, they are still young enough to be tamed and easily rehomed. If you have determined that they are old enough to be separated from their mother, you may proceed with capturing them, socializing them, and rehoming them.
As they get older, the mother cat will also become fertile and ready to mate again. If you can organize for the feral mother to be trapped, neutered, and vaccinated, you can help give her the chance to live a longer, healthier life.
What To Do When Kittens Are Abandoned
When you have sufficiently determined that the kittens are alone, you must immediately bring the kittens to a safer location and perform first aid. The proper first aid for abandoned kittens will depend on how old the kittens are.
Very young kittens that are less than three weeks of age are unable to regulate their body temperature. Thus, the first thing you will need to do is to give them warmth. You may use a heat lamp, a heating pad, or your own body to keep them from getting cold temporarily.
Until they are four months old, it is necessary to bottle-feed them with pet milk formula or the appropriate substitutes. The right amount to feed them will be dependent on their weight and the frequency based on their age. If you are not sure about their age, you may estimate based on how many hours before they start crying out for food. Missing a feeding schedule can be lethal and lead to hypoglycemic shock.
Should your rescued kitten be around five weeks or older, you may start slowly giving them wet cat food. When their teeth have developed enough, you may begin to feed them a mix of wet and dry food.
Without proper care, many abandoned kittens have a small chance of survival. While abandoned kittens may not be easy to care for, seeing them thrive and survive will be worth all the sleepless nights. We hope these tips will help you save a cat's life.