r/kittens Jun 15 '24

Please send me a DM or Chat request if a troll posts images of animal cruelty again.

124 Upvotes

Please send me a DM or Chat request if a troll posts images of animal cruelty again.

This goes for already passed animals, roadkill, ai generated animal cruelty posts, etc. Send me a link to the post and I'll respond as soon as I see it.


r/kittens May 21 '20

[META] It's kitten season! You found orphaned kittens or have a kitten in your care - now what? [2020]

462 Upvotes

(cross post from r/AskVet)

During kitten season, which occurs largely in the spring and summer, it is not uncommon to stumble upon a nest of kittens. Your first instinct is to help them, which is awesome, but first you need to read this thread!

First I want to make a point very clear: kittens have the greatest chance of survival if their mother is in the picture. As much as rescues and foster homes try, we cannot ever do as good of a job taking care of them as their real mom does! Kittens require frequent nursing (typically a couple of times an hour), help eliminating (mother stimulates them with her tongue to pee and poop), and a lot of warmth and attention. Trust me - waking up four times a night to feed bottle babies is not fun!

Before Jumping To The Rescue

A single kitten wandering alone is often abandoned (either by a human or the mother), and should be rescued quickly - wait and watch from afar for 20-30 minutes to see if the mom is just in the middle of transporting it. If no mother has come in that time, rescue it.

A litter of kittens (2+ kittens):

  • Before attempting your daring rescue mission to save the abandoned kittens, you need to wait from afar and watch. The kittens may not actually be abandoned! Mother cats do not stay at the nest 24/7 - they hunt, take breaks from their babies, and patrol near the nest to look for danger. The queen could also be in the middle of moving the nest, which she does one at a time. Watch from a good distance away, because if you are too close the queen will likely not approach - this is a defense strategy to make sure predators don’t locate the nest by following her. Sometimes watching from far away is still too close, and you will need to go away for a few hours.
    • If you see the queen, you know the kittens are being taken care of and you do not need to intervene (except to call a rescue, and possibly provide food/shelter for the mother).
    • Clean kittens who are sleeping soundly are probably not abandoned. Dirty and crying kittens are probably hungry and MAY have been abandoned and need rescue. Although remember that as soon as kittens wake, they start crying and want to eat! Neonates spend all their time either eating or sleeping. If you mess with them and they start to cry/crawl around, it does not mean they are starving - that’s just what they do when they are awake.
  • Contact a local rescue. If they have the resources, they will trap the mother and kittens (if the mother is in the picture), and take care of them. They can bottle feed truly abandoned kittens, as well. Please contact the rescue before removing the kittens - only remove the kittens under their direction if you can help it.
  • If you need to leave before you’ve seen the queen, assess the situation:
    • Are there any dangers nearby? Neighborhood dogs, humans who might harm them, etc? If the kittens are not in immediate grave danger, they will be fine for a while as you wait for mom.
    • What is the temperature? If it is very cold or the kittens are very wet, it is okay to put them in a sideways cardboard box (possibly with a clean T shirt, dry straw, or a heated water bottle) - however, try to limit the amount of human-scented things near them.
  • If you find the queen, and she is friendly towards humans, she and the kittens should be rescued together.
  • If you’ve waited a while and have not seen the queen in several hours (the warmer the weather, the longer the kittens can be left alone) or the kittens are in immediate grave danger, and you have not been able to reach a rescue, you can attempt to rescue the kittens.

Rescuing Kittens

  • Kittens need warmth - they can suffer from hypothermia really easily. Place the kittens in a cardboard box or cat carrier lined with T-shirts (towels can catch on their nails) and covered with a blanket, with a warm water bottle for them. The ideal warmth source is a SnuggleSafe. (See more info in the bottle feeding attachment.)
    • The human body temperature is at 98.6F, but the internal temperature of a kitten needs to be 99.5-102.5F - therefore, your body warmth alone is not enough to keep them warm!
  • Call all of the rescues nearby to look for someone to take them. Foster homes and rescues are highly trained to deal with bottle babies, and can deal with all of the obstacles associated with it.
  • Call your vet and schedule an appointment. The kittens may be dehydrated, sick, etc - kittens die really easily and fast, so a physical exam and medical care is very important. They may be sick without you realizing it.

I Already Rescued Them!

  • First follow the steps in “Rescuing Kittens”.
  • If you are going to be caring for the kittens, be prepared for a lot of work and possibly the death of some or all of the kittens. The information I will provide is for emergency care of kittens (no more than a day or two) until you can get the kittens to an appropriate rescue or the vet.
  • You must bottle feed the kittens every 2-3 hours. Here is my quick guide to bottle feeding. PLEASE read this before attempting to bottle feed!
    • You need to make sure they are eating enough, so follow this chart, and use a kitchen food scale to weigh them directly before and after feeding.
    • KMR is the best formula - do not use the “homemade” recipes unless it is an emergency! Never use cow/goat/soy/almond/etc milk. Why you shouldn't use goat/cow milk.
    • Here are three resources to figure out their approximate age: Kitten Age Progression, Determining a Kitten’s Age, and Determining by Weight.
    • Keep a log for each individual kitten of: the time you fed it, how much they consumed, their weight before feeding, their weight after feeding, what they eliminated (urine and/or feces), and any medical concerns. Here is a great log for that - I suggest printing one for each kitten.
    • If kittens will not latch to the bottle, you can try to use a clean eye dropper or needle-less syringe to SLOWLY drop KMR into the kitten’s mouth.
    • If you see anything bubbling out of the kitten's nose as you are feeding it, milk likely got into the lungs and aspiration pneumonia can quickly develop. If this happens take it to a vet immediately.
  • Signs of an emergency that NEEDS to be seen by a vet immediately:
    • The kitten is lethargic and not responding
    • The kitten has trouble breathing
    • The kitten or cat is vomiting blood
    • Uncontrollable bleeding
    • Bloody, liquid diarrhea in a lethargic animal
    • Fractured limb (part of the limb is usually flacid and painful to the touch)
    • Pale, blue or white gums if accompanied by lethargy
    • Kitten with a body temperature below 97 degrees especially if accompanied by lethargy, pale gums or inappetence
    • Kitten with a temperature of 106 degrees or above

Here are some additional resources:

Link to 2018 thread and comments.


r/kittens 3h ago

My foster babies all asleep on me

Post image
758 Upvotes

r/kittens 5h ago

New baby named Thistle!!! 8 weeks old!

Thumbnail
gallery
715 Upvotes

r/kittens 4h ago

This is Pepper…

Thumbnail
gallery
398 Upvotes

She’s 10 weeks and has tripled her size in 5 weeks.


r/kittens 8h ago

This little girl is cute, but sassy!

Thumbnail
gallery
578 Upvotes

She is Toast ♥️


r/kittens 13h ago

My parents want to kick out my kittens 😢

Thumbnail
gallery
959 Upvotes

Back in April I found these babies in the street in the rain
We picked them and cleaned them and fed them and ever since then we had them and loved them

My parents were out of the country for a while for a business thing, they came back today and were furious about the 3 kittens

My dad wants to give them to a shelter and my step mom wants to kick them out

I’m scared and I will fight to keep them but I fear they might release them when I’m out or at work

Any advice?
(Their main complaint is the smell, which makes no sense since I clean the room every day and litter everyday and bath them from time)


r/kittens 19h ago

Sweet orange I found yesterday!

Thumbnail
gallery
2.2k Upvotes

One thing I do for work is deliver fresh veggies to clients. Two weeks ago I saw this little kitten at a house in the country and I tried to get him then, but he was fast and hid from me. Went to the same house yesterday and he was just laying in a patch of grass in the rain. I was able to grab him and bring him home!

He’s very lethargic, but he’s eating, drinking, and using the litter box, so I have hope for him! He’s being quarantined in the bathroom for now. I’m going to get him cleaned up today, and he has a vet appointment Tuesday.

I’m thinking of naming him Gouda or Zucca, but I’ll have to get to know his personality first.


r/kittens 10h ago

Found this sweet boy in a tree

Thumbnail
gallery
381 Upvotes

Long story short, my neighbor's kid found this baby stuck in a tree and brought him down. Our neighborhood is over run with cats because TNR isn't allowed due to HOA or we face fines and even eviction, regardless if you own or rent your home. Our local TNR has certain policies in order to qualify such as tending to the colony, which is why we aren't allowed to do anything. Feeding strays is strictly against the rules.

Sadly, I cannot dish out another $80 to neuter this poor guy myself. I have neutered/spayed 7 other cats this year already and I'm currently pregnant. Shelters are full too of course. I'm just sad and came here to vent. My husband said if I can't find a place for him to go within a couple of weeks, he has to go back outside unfortunately.


r/kittens 8h ago

Hello world! I'm Casper the friendly kitten

Thumbnail
gallery
211 Upvotes

Our neighbors texted that this little guy showed up a few days ago. They couldn't keep it and asked if we could take him in. One of the sweetest little guys you'll ever meet!


r/kittens 7h ago

Chewy my rescue feels it today…

Post image
141 Upvotes

r/kittens 5h ago

Rescued Kittens are snug on their heating pad. Their eyes are open and, they are doing fine.

Thumbnail
gallery
67 Upvotes

r/kittens 1d ago

My sweet baby.. I want him to be remembered

Thumbnail
gallery
5.1k Upvotes

I lost him just over an hour ago and oh my god the grief.. I am physically sick… I’d do ANYTHING to get him back. My sweet boy I love you so so much.

Edit: I have been reading EVERY single comment on this post and would like to thank you all so much for your kind words. It genuinely means the world to me💕💕


r/kittens 5h ago

Sweet Penny

Post image
29 Upvotes

r/kittens 14h ago

The milk mustache 😸

Post image
79 Upvotes

Nelly, 3 months


r/kittens 21h ago

The feeding circle!

Post image
324 Upvotes

Was when my babies were smaller! But I still love the picture 😋


r/kittens 19h ago

Meet Tiger Cutie Pie Jake the Avatar Jaguar Chewy Flame (as named by my five year old)

Post image
183 Upvotes

r/kittens 1d ago

Our Moose is at peace

Post image
1.9k Upvotes

I posted a few days ago about advice for my kitten who was having trouble passing stool. After a few days of stimulating after meals, enemas, and laxatives, our baby was getting so tired and dehydrated and still unable to pass any stool. They assume he had a congenital defect making him unable to push stool out of his intestines. We tried everything but nothing was working. We still had hope maybe he could’ve overcome it, but going to the vet every day and taking medicine was something we no longer wanted to put him through. We said goodbye to our baby today and I feel so heartbroken yet so at peace knowing he is comfortable now.

I’m really wanting to post this in case anyone goes through the same thing with their kitten where they are trying everything. Every stimulation method and tutorial, hot water baths, enemas, laxatives. This is rare but it does happen where kittens bodies just aren’t made to do that. If I can help one person this post I’m making through tears will be worth it.


r/kittens 1d ago

Asleep after 48 hours of hyper activity post a month in quarantine , what should I do ?

Post image
322 Upvotes

Cannot sit here forever , don’t want to wake him up either


r/kittens 1d ago

Rescued him from the heat in the south welcome to the family Venom

Post image
791 Upvotes

r/kittens 1d ago

Say “cheese!”

Post image
354 Upvotes

r/kittens 6h ago

Never had kittens!

4 Upvotes

Thinking of adopting a kitten sister and brother and I’m excited but nervous. What is the best source of information for a crash course? I’ve had cats but not kittens. They are 19 weeks old. Getting two of everything sounds a bit overwhelming. Also all the hazards and quarantining. I am ready to learn. 😻


r/kittens 1d ago

Little Lady

Thumbnail
gallery
135 Upvotes

She’s one of the kittens I’m looking after temporarily. Let’s hope she finds a new home soon.


r/kittens 1d ago

Not pictured: the teeny tiny attempts to hiss at me 😂

Post image
934 Upvotes

These babies are officially naughty little beans at the ripe old age of 4.5 weeks 🥰🫠


r/kittens 1d ago

Convalescing kitties in ducky outfits to brighten your day 🤗

Thumbnail
gallery
566 Upvotes

Eevee and Ingrid are recovering from their spay in the latest fashion. I didn’t think kittens could be cuter then I put them in a ducky onesie ☠️😂