Springtime and abandoned kittens

I was at a charity dog walk this weekend at Rochester Institute of Technology and one of the groups that would be benefiting from the walk proceeds (in addition to Rescue Pit, the pit bull group I work with) was a kitten rescue group called Kitten Korner. Co-founder Laraine VanBlarcom had some kittens with her, what she called “bottle babies”.

So tiny!!

Laraine explained that the one day old kittens had been found by a homeowner, who found them in an unsafe place and moved them for safety. But when the mother came back, she took a sniff of the kittens and walked away. The homeowner called the rescue, who took the kittens in to care for them – that means they’re being bottle fed.

The two-week-old kitten was left behind when the mother relocated the litter and never came back for the last kitten.

The three-week-old kitten was found by a garbage man. He heard mewing in a dumpster and dug through the garbage until he found the source. Then he continued digging until he was sure there were no more kittens.

These kittens would definitely have died without some human intervention. But I often wonder if, in our zeal to help animals, we end up disrupting the natural cycle of life. A cat roaming around your neighborhood isn’t always abandoned; it might just be an outside cat that is loved and cared for by someone. A litter of kittens may be alone while the mother goes off to hunt. How often are the two related? Mother goes off to hunt, is picked up by well-meaning human who wants to give it a home, kittens are left without a mother. As a result, shelters are overrun with cats that really didn’t need to be there.

What most people don’t know is that when newborn kittens are turned over to an animal shelter that’s overrun and needs space (which is just about every shelter in the spring), the young kittens are usually the first to be euthanized. Many shelters just don’t have the manpower to bottle feed and nurse along newborn kittens.

For a while, I volunteered at a local animal shelter, and I was amazed at the number of cats that came in that spring. I remember one woman who handed over a litter of kittens she’d found in her yard and said she’d like to “make a donation.” When we asked her what she meant, she explained she brought them in so we could sell them and make money for the shelter. When we explained that these kittens would likely be euthanized because we were already out of space and overflowing to portable cages, she just about fainted.

I asked Laraine what people should do if they find a litter of kittens. She says as long as the kittens are cuddled up in ball and are in a safe place, just observe them for a while without disturbing the nest. Mother cats will often leave their kittens while they go off and hunt, and kittens all huddled up together will stay warm for a few hours. And feral cats will teach their kittens to be quiet, so just because they’re not mewing it doesn’t mean they’re necessarily in distress.

If you think they need to be rescued, contact a reputable cat rescue for advice. And if you’re able, volunteer to foster the cats until they’re old enough to be adopted out. In the spring, it’s all hands – or paws – on deck to manage the overwhelming flood of kittens.

And as a little bonus, here’s Cooper, the Rescue Pit pup we had at the event. He’s not a kitten, but he’s just as cute! You can see more photos from the dog walk in this post.

To learn more about Kitten Korner, visit their Facebook page.

To learn more about Rescue Pit, the pit bull rescue I work with, visit their website.