It’s beginning to look a lot like KITTENS!
Not for us yet, actually. Kitten season seems to be off to a late start for us; we’re not sure if it’s a result of successful TNR efforts in our colonies, or if the mild weather led to a stealth “third kitten season” over the winter months and the annual spring kitten season is delayed a month or two. Still, spring is the perfect time to talk about kittens—what we do and do not do, how we can help, and how YOU can help give kittens from feral colonies their best shot at indoor, forever homes.
First and foremost we need to reiterate: WE ARE NOT A RESCUE! We are not incorporated as a rescue, we are not set-up to be a rescue, and our primary focus must remain TNR. (After all, the more we can TNR, the fewer kittens there will be needing rescue, right? An ounce of prevention is worth a litter of kittens.) We do not accept kittens from the general public and do not help with placements (or removals of adult cats from colonies—we’ll come back to that in another post.)
Now that said, we also recognize that pulling kittens from colonies, socializing them, and finding them placement is an integral part of a healthy, functioning TNR program. There is no room for “we don’t do kittens, period.” Kittens become cats, and kittens deserve our help, too. To that end, our policy is if we take kittens for you, you must be actively pursuing TNR for the momma and her colony. Don’t worry, being on our waiting list for services counts; as long as we’re working to get you TNR, you’re considered ‘actively pursuing.’ But we cannot and will not accept kittens from folks who will not then spay the momma. We’re looking to be part of the solution, and we hope you are, too.
As part of our TNR efforts, we do take some kittens into foster each year. The number is limited by a variety of factors: how many open foster slots we have, our foster’s schedule, and the age of the kittens are the three biggest determining factors. We take as many as we can, but we cannot always say “yes.” That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask! Even if we cannot take them, we can give you some numbers to call to find other rescues who may be able to. We also may be able to “schedule” you into our foster slots. In that instance, we would ask you to keep the kittens with you for a week or two, providing basic care, until space opens up in our kitten room. We’re always happy to walk you through care, and in a pinch we can even sometimes help out with supplies to get you set up.
Now for the really important part:
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE THE ODDS FOR COMMUNITY KITTENS
You’re already doing the first step: good nutrition for the mom. Kittens from well-managed colonies have a leg up in the rescue game. They have a higher survival rate and fewer health issues than kittens from non-managed colonies.
Take notice of the pregnant queens in your colony, if you can. Have a cat that keeps showing up fatter and fatter and then one day shows up looking like she dropped 2 pounds? That’s probably 2 pounds of kittens. When you notice this, WRITE THE DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR (and feel free to let us know.) Why, you may ask? Well…
We want to leave the kittens with momma for 5-6 weeks if at all possible. She can care for them far better than we can. That’s why you write down the date: so we know when we’re at the 5-6 week mark and can remove the kittens for socialization. If you can, also take note of where momma goes back to after eating. This can help locate the kittens if necessary.
Momma will generally keep the kittens hidden for the first couple of weeks of their lives. They’re basically helpless as newborns: they can’t see or hear at first, and even after their eyes open, they don’t so much move around as kind of…potato around. (If you’ve been fortunate enough to work with neonates, you know what we mean.) Their lack of ability to move around much means she can keep them easily contained and safe in the nest.
At around three weeks old, they start trying to get up on their legs. This continues into their fourth week of life, and momma will often move them to a second nest at this age, one she can better contain them in—think higher walls, more barriers to wandering, etc. So don’t panic if you know where momma had them and then suddenly they’re gone; she likely has moved them for their own safety.
Usually around five to six weeks old, they’ll start venturing out with mom to her food source—you! This is often the first good look caretakers get at the kittens, and it can be the first time they even know there are any in their colony. This is when we need to hear from you again! Now that the kittens are up and active and have their initial teeth, they can be removed from the colony for socialization, and it’s the perfect time to do so. The vast, vast majority of kittens removed from colonies at this age tame down just fine (and quickly!) and do very well in rescue.
We operate in a very small window for socialization. For kittens of very feral mommas who have had no socialization, we generally don’t accept them past about 8 weeks of age (another good reason to write down on the calendar when you think momma gave birth.) But here is another part where you come in, if you feel it’s safe and you’re willing: regularly handling the kittens from the time they start coming for food can expand that window, and give us a few more weeks to get our hands on them. This is on a case by case basis, and we cannot stress this enough: DO NOT HANDLE THEM IF YOU DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN DOING SO.
Ideally, you want to let momma do what momma does until the kittens are 6 weeks old, but there are definitely times when you have to intervene earlier. If you find yourself in a situation where you have a kitten who’s a bit below weaning age (or even a neonate,) you have a little work to do, and a lot of it is best done quickly.
In order of importance, kittens should be:
--dry
--warm
--hydrated
--fed
--medicated/de-flea’d
Again: kittens MUST be dry and warm before you can hydrate or feed them! Feeding a cold kitten can be a death sentence. Drying them can be done simply by rubbing them with a nice soft towel, the same as you would do after a bath yourself. For warming, you have a variety of options: Snuggle Safe discs, hot water bottles, heating pads, Hot Hands warmers your own body heat. Whatever heat source you use, please remember that the kitten cannot regulate its own body temperature AND it may not be able to move away from a heat source that is too hot, so be sure not to put them on the source, but rather near it. And never put them directly on the heat (unless it’s your own body heat.) Make sure there’s at least one or two layers of cloth between the kitten and the heat source.
Once they are dry and warm, you can offer hydration and food, and observe for any obvious illnesses such as weepy eyes, sneezing, or diarrhea. Also take note of any fleas and, once the kitten is stabilized, a bath or flea medication can be administered. Please do not underestimate the toll fleas can take on a tiny body! We’ve seen many kittens crash and pass away not from any sort of bacteria or virus, but from the havoc that simple anemia wreaks on their systems.
Please remember to keep any kittens you bring inside separate from your resident animals, and practice amazing hygiene! Kittens coming in from outside should be essentially quarantined for 10-14 days for their protection and the protection of other animals. This can be accomplished with something as simple as a dog crate in a room that can be closed off. Always wash your hands before and after feeding or handling, and if you can smock up when you’re in with them, so much the better. (Here at ITKC, we even wipe down our feet after leaving the kitten room.)
Your intervention can make such a huge difference in both our ability to place the kittens, and in their future health and happiness. Again, we are always happy to provide advice and assistance when we can—our co-chair and resident kitten wrangler Becca loves nothing more than to talk about kittens!
Thank you for caring about the community cats of Accomack County—and their kittens.
