What should you do if you find a litter of stray kittens?

There is nothing cuter than a litter of kittens! However, what happens if you find a litter of kittens with no Mother cat nearby, and no owner to speak of? Could you possibly walk away, knowing that without your help, the kittens could starve to death? Thankfully, there are a few things that you can do if you happen to find these adorable youngsters around and about, and you could be giving the kitties a new lease of life, simply by making one phone call.

1. Start with having a good look around. There could be a mother cat roaming around somewhere looking for food to feed herself and in turn, feed her new babies. There will be a good chance that she could be around hiding somewhere, and if she does appear, call the local human society, or a rescue group or organization to get more ideas on what to do next.

2. Once you have established whether or not there is a mother nearby, you should try to pick up the kittens if they allow you too. Remember – they are going to be scared and will likely lash out with their tiny teeth and claws – you are a very scary individual to them. If you have pet food, or something that you know the kittens are safe to eat as scraps, feed them it to the youngsters in a bid to encourage friendship. Never feed the kittens or any cat cow's milk – this will give them a rather poorly tummy and can potentially be very bad for them!

3. Try to have an idea of how old the kittens are – this will help you when you call the right authorities. If you don't know, you can always ask a Vet to help you.

4. One thing that it is vitally important to do is to make sure that the kittens are kept warm. You may have to donate them a blanket or a towel in order to do so, but if they are still very young, they are going to need all of the help they can get, otherwise they could die. You could try using a hot water bottle that has been wrapped up in a towel or blanket, but you should make sure that it is only position at one end of the box, so the kittens can escape from the heat if they need to.

5. You do need to work out what you want to do with the kitties – if they are completely stray, do you want to keep them and try to find them new homes? This will involve having the vaccinated at the vets and having them spayed, neutered, micro-chipped etc. which is likely to be costly. Alternatively, you can call the local authorities such as shelters, cat associations, vets and even volunteers that care for homeless pets to find a suitable solution.

One thing that you shouldn't do if you find a litter of stray kittens is leave them where they are. These are vulnerable creatures that will die if they have been left to their own devices, and at the very least, you should call the right people to get the problem resolved and hopefully prevent these kitties from death. One phone call is all it takes t make a difference.

Stray cats are not vicious, nor are they normally aggressive to people (with one exception at a hotel I was hired to work at). Because the people at the hotel were feeding the cats. Never feed stray cats - it causes several problems.

Stray cats will leaving droppings and urine in the areas they live, and will of course scratch and dig. Stray cats are a source of fatal and non-fatal diseases transmittable to humans and domestic cats, including rabies, ringworm, toxoplasmosis, cat scratch fever, allergies, feline leukemia, feline distemper and secondary bacterial infections.

The best way to help with America's stray cat problem is to never feed them, and to initiate trap, neuter, release programs. Always spay or neuter your pet cat!

Here is a complete list of my stray cat educational articles:
Trap Neuter Release Programs for Stray Cats
Stray Cat Trapping Techniques
Stray Cats in the Attic
Should You Feed Stray Cats?
Common problems caused by stray cats
How to catch a stray cat to bring it to the shelter
How many stray cats are in the United States?
What should you do if you find a litter of stray kittens?
How to Adopt a Stray Cat
What to do About Stray Cat Fighting and Spraying
How To Get Rid of Stray Cats