Found A Kitten?

Please check out our links on how to trap, what to do if kittens are found, what to do BEFORE YOU TRAP and helpful TNR guides

Much of the following information is from local rescue resources and Alley Cat Allies. This is a brief overview and is not intended to provide veterinary recommendations.

If you find Kittens - DO NOT REMOVE THE KITTENS FROM THEIR NEST - unless they are injured, bleeding or covered in fly strike. See Images Below for Emergency situations.

Kittens - Do they have a mother?

1. First, determine whether they have a mother. Mother cats may be out for several hours at a time getting food for themselves, so try to wait somewhere unobserved for 4-6 hours to see if she comes back.

Mother cats like to leave kittens in covered well hidden areas - under decks, sheds, boxes, etc
They will rarely leave them out in the open unless they were startled in the middle of moving them
newborn kittens will normally only cry when hungry or startled - if they are howling and show signs of dehydration (sunken in faces, sticky skin that tents, rooting looking for food then they should be left alone. Their cries are meant to bring their mother back
After the first week moms may leave for long periods of time or hide if they believe they are being watched. do not move kittens and place them in the open. leave them where you found them - take a photo and contact the nearest rescue with the photo and information (Foxy's Cradle, Crazy Cat Chicks and Aunt Helen's all specialize in aging kittens and determining emergency situations please contact us via text or facebook if you believe you have an emergency or no mother is found).
We will not kittenapp kittens if we believe the mother is around and needs to be trapped. Once a kitten less than 2 weeks old is removed from it's mother it's likelyhood to survive is less than 30% even with advanced neonate care.

Kittens are Orphans or Old enough to be placed in rescue

2. If it has been determined the kittens are orphans or old enough to remove (6+ weeks old) then gather the information needed to contact a rescue

Take photos or videos and gather information on the kittens location, do they have a mom or feeder providing food?
Are they in a busy or dangerous area?
Are they showing signs of being ill (crusty eyes, sneezing, limping, etc)?
Are they in a location a trapper can come out and catch them fairly easily or will they need property owner to give them access?
Gather this information and send it to the rescues in your area via their preferred method of contact - text, facebook, email.
Almost all rescues except the Lehigh Humane Society are volunteer based and will not be able to answer live phone calls - response times are from a few hours to 48 hours.

In the case of an emergency contact your nearest 24/7 emergency clinic (In the lehigh valley that is valley central, quakertown animal hospital, eastern veterinary hospital, rush urgent care).

Emergency Situations

In the case of an emergency keep handling of a kitten at a minimum.

Keep kittens in a warm dark safe place, they cannot regulate their body temperature so a soft dry towl and water bottle with warm water or handwarmer pack underneath or heating pad set on low will keep them warm
Do not feed an injured or cold kitten - they will aspirate and die
Do not feed any milk products, cats are lactose intolerent
DO NOT USE kitten formula recipes found online. Emergency formula kits may be available through one of our volunteers contact us. Store bought formulas - the liquid KMR found at any pet store is best, if not KMR powder is the next choice. Goats milk if nothing else is available.
If the kitten is over 3-4 weeks they can lap on their own and you may put down room temperature water or chicken/turkey baby food on a saucer to see if they eat/lap that up

How Old is the Kitten?

Properly aging a kitten will assist rescuers in how to prioritize intake

Kittens grow very rapidly, the chart below is from Alley Cat Allies and can assist you in accurately aging kittens for when you're contacting rescues. The quickest way to get help is to take clear photos of kittens to attach to your communication to rescues.

0-7 days old

New Born

Still have their eyes closed, their ears folded and the umbilical cord still attached.
They are still unable to see or hear.
Nose and paws might be pink in color.
Weight roughly 50-150 grams.
Low body temperature, usually around 95-97 degrees.

1-2 weeks old

One Week Old

Their eyes still remain closed by no umbilical cord.
At about 7 days old their ear canals will start to open.
Around 8-12 days, the eyes will slowly begin to open. Never try to pry open a kitten's eyes; let them open on their own.
By one week of age, the kitten should have doubled her birth weight (approximately 150-250 grams).

2 weeks old

Two Weeks Old

At two weeks of age, the kittens' eyes will be fully open and baby blue. Her vision will still be developing.
The ear canals will be open and the ears will be small and rounded, like a baby bear cub.
Two-week-old kittens will be wobbly on their feet and attempting to develop coordination and movement.
A two-week-old kitten should weigh anywhere from 250-350 grams.

3 weeks old

Three Weeks Old

At three weeks of age, a kitten's first teeth will begin to erupt. The tiny teeth at the front of the mouth called the incisors, will start to poke through the gums.
Three-week-old kittens will have ears that begin to point upwards.
At this age, kittens will be walking, exploring their surroundings, and even beginning to explore their litter box.
The average kitten should weigh from 350-450 grams

4 weeks old

Four Weeks Old

Your kitten's teeth will continue to develop and by this time their canine teeth will start to poke through the gums.
Four-week-old kittens will be confidently exploring and developing more coordination that allows them to walk, run, and even begin to play.
Your kitten should still weigh anywhere from 350-450 grams or roughly 1 pound.

5 weeks old

Five Weeks Old

The premolars will start to emerge, indicating that a kitten is ready to be introduced to weaning onto wet food.
Your kitten should now weigh roughly 1 pound

6 weeks old

Six Weeks Old

At six weeks of age, a kitten's deciduous teeth will have fully emerged, and she will typically be perfecting her weaning onto wet food.
At this stage, your kitten can weigh roughly 1.5 pounds

7 weeks old

Seven Weeks Old

At seven weeks, kittens will have all of their baby teeth. Most seven-week-old kittens will be fully weaned onto wet food.
At this age, the adult eye color will begin to emerge. Kittens' eyes will mostly changed from baby blue.

8 weeks old

Eight Weeks Old

At eight weeks old, most kittens will be eating independently.
Kittens of this age will have their permanent adult eye color.
Your kitten should weigh roughly 2 pounds.

9-12 weeks old

At 9-12 weeks old kittens have pointy ears and are looking pretty grown-up! At this age kittens are behaving and using their body language like adult cats.
Kittens are ating all solid food and do not need mom