Every spring and summer, well-meaning people pick up entire litters that were never abandoned. A stray mother moves her kittens, goes off to hunt for hours, and comes back. A kitten taken from its mother loses its best caregiver.
The first thing to do is not to pick them up, but to watch.
What to do
- Watch from a distance for at least four to six hours, and from farther away than you think necessary: the mother will not return if she sees you.
- Note whether the kittens are clean, round and quiet: that means an active mother.
- Sprinkle a little flour around the nest: paw prints will tell you whether she came back.
- Shelter them from rain and direct sun without moving them out of the area.
- If they are dirty, thin, cold to the touch or crying non-stop, act immediately.
What to avoid
- Giving cow's milk: kittens cannot digest it and it causes fatal diarrhoea.
- Feeding a cold kitten: a chilled kitten cannot digest and can die from being fed.
- Splitting the litter between several homes.
- Handling them at length if the mother is still around.
- Waiting until autumn assuming they will manage: first-winter mortality among stray kittens is very high.
Warm before feeding
If you do take kittens in, the rule is simple: warm them first, feed them after. A hot water bottle wrapped in a towel, inside a box, is enough. A kitten must be able to move away from the heat source if it gets too warm.
Food is never cow's milk. A clinic or shelter will supply kitten formula and show you the bottle-feeding technique, which is done belly down, never on the back.
The root of the problem
An unspayed female can produce two to three litters a year. Spaying a single stray female prevents dozens of births on the street. If you feed a cat with no owner, spaying is the most useful thing you can do.
Should you pick up kittens found outdoors?
Not right away. Watch from a distance for four to six hours: the mother often goes hunting and returns. Clean, round, quiet kittens have an active mother. Step in immediately if they are cold, dirty, injured or crying non-stop.
