04/30/2026
😸💞A most *wonderful* thing happened yesterday:
Everyday, we get desperate calls from people finding newborn kittens. It seems like we also constantly see them posted on social media. 😫
No matter how many posts we, and other rescues, share steps to take, many are *still* compulsively scooping up these kittens, thinking the mothers have abandoned them.
One such call came in at around 3 PM.
The young man had picked up a lone newborn kitten they saw wiggling around out in their lawn.
They said they were watching, and the mother had not come back for 3 hours so they wanted to "save" it.
But situations like this are common.
Why?
When mothers have their babies, after the birth is finished, they often quickly transport them to a place they feel more comfortable.
Maybe they are associate the birthing place with the traumatic event ( giving birth isn't easy). Maybe it's just wet and they want something dry and cozy. At any rate, these transfers are common.
They can only move one at a time. Sometimes they drop one mid trip, and come back to finish the job later. Transfers typically occur in the early morning and late evening.
In this case, since there was only one kitten, this was the likely scenario and the mother would probably return at dusk to pick up the last kitten.
I explained that the best chance of survival kittens have is with the mother, but unfortunately, now that the kitten was touched, she may not accept the kitten back.
He had two choices:
1. Put the kitten back in the exact place he found it.
Pour a ring of baking flour around the kitten to monitor if the mother was coming back to check on it. If she is, he would be able to see paw prints in the flour. With any luck, she'd just take her baby.
2. Assume care of the kitten and plan on feeding it every two hours, caring for it as a mother would, keeping it warm, and preparing for emergency medical intervention should failing kitten syndrome occur.
He said there was no way he could do option 2. But unfortunately, most bottle feeders and shelters are completely full right now.
He chose option 1.
At 7 PM, I received an exciting text, that yes indeed, the mother returned and got her last kitten! Surprise, surprise. 😸👏🏽
Now, this young man is going to reach out for help to fix all of them, including the mother! No more lawn kittens for him!
This is all to say 2 things:
PLEASE stop stealing kittens!
At best, being away from mother drastically reduces their life expectancy.
Worst, there is no place for them to go.
If you have/see an outside cat, PLEASE fix it. 🙏🏼
All over rescues are saying that this kitten season is the worst they've ever seen.
We NEED your help to stop overpopulation and stop the suffering that comes as a result.
These animals depend on us to care for them.
They depend on all of us.
* Image courtesy of Carolina Street Cats
