One of our staff members has begun supporting a local humane organization by bottle- and syringe-feeding newborn kittens. Employees and volunteers work in shifts, 24/7, to keep these tiny bundles alive. The organization has seen an increase in the number of “orphaned” kittens brought to the shelter by compassionate and well-meaning people. They found apparently abandoned litters in their yards or neighborhoods, rescued the kittens, and took them to shelters where, hopefully, the kittens will find families to adopt them.
In most cases, however, the kittens have been neither abandoned nor orphaned. Momma cats leave their litters briefly to find food, and too often return to find their kittens gone.
Our “kitten nanny” asks that we simply watch for a litter’s mom to return for a bit before gathering the kittens for a trip to a shelter. Removed from her care, they don’t get the immunities found in her colostrum and they don’t learn basic kitten skills. Many of the kittens turned in to the shelter are just days old, and haven’t even learned to nurse.
Their chances of survival are far greater if kittens are left to be cared for by their mothers. Shelter staff and volunteers do everything they can to feed and care for them, but that may not be enough. Kittens really do need to spend their first two months in their mothers’ care.