A step-by-step guide to helping kittens you find alone without their mum
If you find kittens who appear to be abandoned or orphaned, you might think it's best to pick them up and get them to safety. But this might not be the best thing to do for the kittens. It’s important to keep calm and assess the situation first.
Should you handle newborn kittens?
It’s possible that the mother cat is still looking after the kittens. She may have been temporarily scared away by something, or be out searching for food. Unless the kittens are in direct danger, keep away from them for three to four hours. Then check back to see if the mum has returned. You could even leave some cat food nearby to entice the mum back to her kittens.
It’s best for kittens to remain with their mother for the first eight weeks of their life. They get important antibodies from her milk that help protect them from infectious diseases. They also learn useful skills and behaviours from her. If you try to handle or move newborn kittens when their mum is still caring for them, she may reject them or even kill them.
If the kittens are in direct danger
Try to get a good look at the kittens from a safe distance. If they look cold, wet or sick, or their environment is not safe, contact one of the following:
- a local vet
- the local Cats Protection
- the RSPCA (for England and Wales)
- the USPCA (for Northern Ireland)
- the SSPCA (for Scotland)
They will be able to give you advice on the best way to help the kittens. Or they may be able to come and collect them and take them to safety.
If the mum comes back to the kittens
If the kittens appear healthy and you see the mum return to care for them:
- do not disturb the mum and kittens. The mum will be best placed to look after her kittens and keep them safe. If you approach or handle the kittens, you may scare the mum away again and risk her not returning
- if you’d like to provide them with some protection from the elements, you could set up some shelter nearby. For example, a sturdy box turned on its side. Don’t move the kittens yourself though, leave the mum to do this if she wants to
- if you’d like to leave some food and water for the mum cat, place some kitten food in a bowl nearby. Kitten food is high in calories, which mum cats need while they are feeding young kittens. Keep fresh water topped up in a shallow bowl nearby. Make sure the kittens can’t accidentally fall into it and drown
- contact the local Cats Protection who will be able to get the mum cat and kittens neutered once the kittens are old enough. If the mum is a friendly stray they will also be able to check her for a microchip to see if she has an owner. If she doesn’t have an owner they can then find her a new home. If she is a feral cat, they will neuter her and return her to her familiar territory. If the kittens have not been socialised to humans in their first eight weeks, then they will be feral. They will need to be neutered and returned to their territory. Find out more about neutering.
If the mum does not come back to the kittens
Abandoned kittens cannot survive for very long without food and warmth. If the kittens have been alone for over four hours and the mum has not returned:
- try to determine the age of the kittens using our kitten aging chart. This will be useful for working out what level of care they need
- contact someone to to see if they can take the kittens in and hand-rear them. This could be a local vet, the local Cats Protection, the RSPCA (for England and Wales), USPCA (for Northern Ireland) or SSPCA (for Scotland)
- if the vet or charity does not have the capacity to help, you can hand-rear the kittens yourself. But be aware that this is a very time-intensive process. Young kittens need round-the-clock care. Find advice on how to hand-rear kittens.
