Found stray kittens and don't know what to do?

Don't panic. Here is a quick guide to lend them a paw 🐾

So, you are walking down the street and you find kittens. Or it may be one of your friends sending you a picture of a box full of newborn kittens not knowing what to do.

Taking care of newborn kittens can be an adorable yet challenging experience, especially if you are hardly capable to keep your plants alive. However, if you ever hear the call - or the meow - here are a few tips that can be useful:

Keep a lookout for the mother cat to return before scooping up kittens you see outdoors. Keeping kittens with their mother is ideal, so it’s important to give the mother cat time to return. If the mother cat seems friendly, you may opt to bring all of them into your home.
If no mother cat appears you may decide to take the litter home with you to care for the litter yourself, at least until the kittens are old enough for adoption.

If you decide to take the litter in:

Ask for help with neonatal kitten care. Did you know kittens need to be stimulated to go to the bathroom after each feeding? What can you feed them if there is no kitten formula available at the moment? You will need that type of information by the time the kittens arrive to your home. The good news is that you are on the right place and you can already check this on your list 😸.
Take the litter to the vet for a checkup as soon as possible to know about their general health condition, give them a deworming treatment and receive professional advice regarding their care. The vet can also help you know their gender, which can be difficult to determine by yourself when kittens are just days old.
Neonatal kittens cannot control their own body temperature until they are at least 3 weeks old, so it’s really important to keep them warm. You can build a soft nest with a heating pad that is completely covered with a blanket or towel.
It is always better to stick to kitten formula which can be purchased at most pet supply stores. If you find yourself with a kitten and pet stores are closed or no kitten formula is available at the time, this emergency kitten formula can be made at home. Feeding frequency may vary with age, but neonatal kittens require to be feed every two hours around the clock.

Stimulate kittens after each feeding in order to go to the bathroom. Use a warm, moist cotton ball, tissue, or washcloth to gently rub the kittens’ anal area to stimulate urination and defecation. If you notice the kittens are having trouble urinating or defecating, consult a veterinarian. Start litter training at 3 weeks.
Keep the kittens clean just like their mom would do. You can use a toothbrush or a lash brush to groom them. If a kitten needs to be cleaned up, wash only certain parts of her little body with a washcloth. Be sure to always fully dry with a towel.
Keep them in a safe place. You know what they say about curiosity and cats, and kittens know no fear. I strongly recommend you to keep them in a playpen like this one, at least for the first weeks.
Involve your community, and most importantly, enjoy the experience! It takes a village and lots of good friends to raise a litter.
Make space in your phone for a thousand pictures and space in your heart for lots of love.

To know more about how to rescue stray kittens, you can visit the following sites:

If you have further concerns about neonatal care or want to share your experience fostering kittens, subscribe to the newsletter with a meow and I will meow you back!