Found Kittens? Leave Them Be!
by Casey Hampf
By: the Ark-Valley Humane Society Team
Feline peak breeding season stretches from early spring through summer. In other words, it is starting now. While walking outside you might chance upon young kittens and instantly want to rescue them. Stop! That might not be in their best interests.
The first step is to assess the mother cat. Is she socialized to humans? If she is friendly, approachable, and can be easily handled, she may be someone’s lost pet. In that case, contacting Ark-Valley Humane Society is a good next step. Their staff can guide you on how to help keep both the mother and her kittens safe.
If the mother cat is fearful or avoids human contact, she is likely feral. In these situations, it’s important to pause and proceed carefully. Alley Cat Allies (alleycat.org), an organization dedicated to the protection and improvement of cat lives, has designed a user-friendly flowchart to help you decide what to do when you find kittens belonging to a feral mother. It is used by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Ark-Valley Humane Society.
If you see kittens alone, their feral mother is probably nearby, and she is their best caregiver. Alley Cat Allies says, “Leave them be. Allow Mom to care for them in their outdoor home. Do not remove kittens younger than 8 weeks-old from their mother. It harms their well-being.”
To help you determine a kitten’s age, know that a newborn or “neonatal” kitten has closed eyes, folded ears and cannot walk. An 8 week-old plays, behaves and looks like an adult cat, and weighs around 2 pounds.
Alley Cat Allies also advises not to try to transport a feral mother and her babies under 8 weeks of age to your home or a shelter. While it may seem like the safest option, indoor environments are unfamiliar and stressful for feral cats. This stress can negatively impact the mother’s health and ability to care for her babies. It’s also important to consider human safety. Because feral cats are not socialized to people, attempting to handle or confine them can pose risks to caregivers, including scratches or bites. Additionally, the kittens’ immune systems are not fully developed, preventing them from being able to fight the diseases they could encounter inside with humans.
Instead, you can support the family where they are. Providing food, fresh water, and a quiet, safe space can make a meaningful difference in the mother cat’s ability to raise her kittens successfully.
Kittens living outdoors are often still young enough to be socialized at about 8 weeks of age, meaning they can adapt to life in a home and be adopted. If you find kittens around this age, or have been monitoring a litter and know they’ve reached this stage, consider now reaching out to Ark-Valley Humane Society. Their team can evaluate whether the kittens are strong candidates for socialization and ready to be brought into the shelter, where they can receive medical care and foster-based support to prepare them for adoption. Once the kittens are removed from their outdoor home, the mother cat should be trapped and spayed to prevent future litters and help control overpopulation in the community.
For kittens older than eight weeks, Alley Cat Allies recommends trapping both the kittens and the feral mother for spaying or neutering and vaccinations, before releasing them back to their outdoor home. Residents of Chaffee County can work with Ark-Valley Humane Society through their “Trap-Neuter-Return” program to safely manage feral cat populations.
According to Alley Cat Allies, “it is okay” to return healthy, older kittens and cats found in the outdoors back to outdoor homes; ideally where they originated from. “They will thrive.”
There is another possible scenario when you come across “found kittens.” If you have watched from a hidden spot for four to six hours and see no sign of the mother, and you notice that the kittens are no longer cuddled together, appear dirty, or have thin, empty bellies, which are all signs that the mother has not recently returned, you may need to act quickly. Kittens 4 weeks old and younger require special supplies and around-the-clock care to survive, so timely intervention is critical in these situations.
If you’re unsure whether the mother is still caring for them, one simple method is to sprinkle a light ring of flour around the kittens and check later for footprints. This can help confirm whether the mother cat is returning to the nest. You may also be able to set up a remote camera to monitor the family.
If you fear the mother cat is not returning, contact the Ark-Valley Humane Society or your veterinarian for advice or help on how to proceed. Also use these resources if the kittens or mother cat appear to be ill or injured.
There may be additional extenuating circumstances for kittens found outdoors. You can find more information by visiting the Alley Cat Allies Website or by contacting the Ark-Valley Humane Society staff.
Just remember that found kittens under 8 weeks will best survive if you “Leave Them Be.”
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