Kitten Season Has Arrived

To paraphrase Alfred Lord Tennyson, in the spring a young feline’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love– and those thoughts soon lead to the pitter patter of tiny kitten paws. Alley Cat Allies, the national advocate for stray and feral cats, offers the following advice in the event you come across a kitten:

Determine the kittens’ age: Human contact within the first weeks of life is crucial to a kitten’s social growth. A lack of exposure to people at the earliest stage will lead to a future as a feral cat. To establish the age of the kitten, refer to Alley Cat Allies’ online guide to kitten progression at www.alleycat.org/KittenProgression.

Is the mother missing?: If you find kittens who are on their own, observe them from a distance for an hour or two– their mother may be close by, looking for food.

Abandoned kittens: Once you have discovered that the kittens are indeed on their own, the next step is determining if the litter is still within the age range to be socialized or if they should be trapped, neutered and returned to the site. (Keep in mind that kittens who have not been weaned require 24 hour care.)

Kittens with mothers: A mother’s love is always best for her litter, and kittens should remain with their mother until weaned. If the female feline is friendly, place the family in an indoor area until the kittens are old enough to be adopted. If the mother is feral, provide food, water and outdoor shelter for the family until the kittens are weaned, at which time the little ones can be adopted or placed in foster care.

Stop the cycle: “The best way to help stray and feral cats is to end the breeding cycle through Trap-Neuter-Return,” said Beck Robinson, the president of Alley Cat Allies. “The cats are humanely trapped and taken to a veterinary hospital or spay/neuter clinic to be vaccinated and neutered. Socialized cats and young kittens are put up for adoption. Feral cats are ‘eartipped’ and returned to their colony.”

For more information regarding kitten care and the Trap-Neuter-Return program:

• visit www.alleycat.org

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