08/17/2026
With the recent amount of orphaned kittens being found in our communities, we wanted to share what TO DO and what NOT TO DO if you find tiny babies. This is addressed for the kittens that quite obviously still need their mom.
ASK FOR HELP. The very first step is to call your animal control officer - generally they will help direct you in determining if the kittens seem to be truly orphaned or if a plan needs to be made to secure the mom as well.
WARMTH. Assuming you have an orphaned baby, the most important TO DO, is to get the kitten warm. The most common cause of death in neonates is hypothermia. A heating pad with a thin blanket or towel is great, but even filling up bottles of hot water and surrounding the kitten works just as well in the moment.
FEEDING. When people see a tiny kitten alone, they often want to help it by trying to feed it. What’s cuter than a little kitten feeding from a bottle?! But this is the number one thing you should NOT DO. Feeding a cold kitten will kill it. The risk of aspiration is also incredibly high when trying to feed a kitten so young.
BATHING. This is a tough one, but we certainly add bathing on the what NOT TO DO side. Seeing fleas and other creepy crawlies is very distressing, but plunging a kitten into water can make it harder for the kitten to bounce back after lowering its body temperature once again. Combing through and removing fleas is a great start, because parasite anemia is another huge cause of kitten death. Let the rescue side determine how to handle the bugs!
FRIENDS. Please do not expose the kitten to any of your personal pets. This is not only dangerous to the baby, but who knows what kind of things it could pass to your animals.
Most people want to nurture these babies for a while, we get it, their cuteness can be overwhelming! But the best way to help is to get them into the hands of an experienced person, this sets it up for its best chance of survival. THANK YOU 😻
*photo of a current litter we are tending to
