March to November is kitten season, the time
of the year when most kittens are born and shelters are busiest
with incoming cats and kittens. Reports of people finding orphaned
kittens increase during this time. If you've found an orphan kitten,
preserving its health is a difficult job requiring prompt action.
However, right up front, take a moment to decide if the kitten or
litter you've located has truly been orphaned. Sometimes well-meaning
people unknowingly separate kittens from their mother, making things
worse instead of better. This article will help you determine if
you're dealing with an orphan situation.
Where's Mom?
The mother cat, also called the queen,
usually remains continuously with newborn kittens for one or two
days after giving birth. She may then leave the 'nest' for short
periods. Even well cared-for domestic mother cats with litters
indoors may leave the nest for several hours at a time about two
weeks after giving birth. Feral mothers, needing to hunt for food,
will leave the nest for intervals at a much earlier stage.
Also, a mother cat will often pick up and move
her litter to a new location, especially during the first few
weeks after birth. Establishing a new nest is part of the cat's
instinctual behavior to safeguard her young by not remaining in
one place too long.
What to do
When you find small kittens without a mother
cat present, the mother may simply be away hunting for food or
may be moving the kittens, one by one, to or from the place you
found them. In other words, don't immediately assume the kittens
are orphans. If the kittens are safe for the time being, you should
observe the nest to see that the mother returns soon; observe
quietly from a safe distance if dealing with a shy or feral mother.
The goal here is to do what is best for the mother
and her litter -- and it is best to keep a mother together with
her kittens if possible, not for emotional reasons but for the
best chance of survival. Not only is hand-raising a young, "prewean"
kitten an intensive round-the-clock job, but also the mortality
rate for these young kittens separated from their mothers is much
higher than if they had been kept together.
Remember that if you encounter a lone kitten,
mom may be moving the kittens, and the lone kitten could be either
the first to be moved to the new location, or the last to be moved
from the old.
The same considerations apply to a lone mother
cat. For instance, when trapping feral cats, if you trap a nursing
mother you must try to find her kittens. In fact if you are trying
to trap a feral litter and their mother, you can rely on the mother
returning to the nest in order to trap her with her kittens, allowing
you to keep the mother and kittens safely together.
When observing kittens you've found, there is
no set length of time that you should wait to watch for a returning
mother cat, but think in terms of only a few hours. It's a tough
call, especially if you don't know how long the kittens have been
alone when you discover them. If you wait too long, the kittens
can weaken beyond recovery (chilling and dehydration are major
concerns).
By all means, if you've found an orphaned litter
we want you to be able to help these kittens reach a happy, healthy
adulthood. But before acting, consider the information above and
take a moment to ask yourself "Are these kittens orphans?"
See our article How to
Care for an Orphan Kitten for more information if you've found
an orphan.
