Found kittens outside? What to do first

1 Do not scoop them up straight away

A mother cat leaves her kittens for hours at a time to find food, and she will not come back while people are standing near the nest. Her care gives very young kittens the best chance, so the first job is usually to wait.

• Look from a distance: are the kittens clean, sleeping in a pile, quiet or making small sounds? That usually means they are being cared for.
• Move well away, out of sight, and watch for two to four hours, or check back from a distance.
• To see whether the mother visits without waiting there, sprinkle a ring of flour around the nest and look for paw prints later.

2 When kittens need help now

• They are in immediate danger: a road, a drain, bad weather, dogs, or a place about to be disturbed.
• They feel cold to the touch, are wet, or are crying loudly and constantly for a long time.
• They look thin, injured, covered in fleas or have crusted eyes.
• The mother has not come back after many hours, or you know she has been hurt or killed.

3 If you must move them

Very young kittens cannot keep themselves warm. Warmth comes before food: feeding a chilled kitten can make it seriously ill.

• Wear gloves if you have them and move the kittens together into a box lined with a soft towel.
• Keep them warm with a heating pad on low under half the box, or a warm (not hot) water bottle wrapped in a towel, so they can move away if they get too warm.
• Keep them in a quiet room away from your own pets.
• Never give cow's milk. Call a local shelter, rescue or vet before feeding anything, and ask what and how much.

4 Get advice and help

• Call your local shelter, a cat rescue or a vet and describe the kittens: roughly how big, whether their eyes are open, whether they can walk.
• Ask whether they run a foster program for young kittens; neonatal kittens need feeding around the clock, and rescues often have trained fosters.
• If the kittens are older (moving confidently, eating on their own), ask a local trap-neuter-return group about catching and fostering them and getting the mother spayed.

5 Roughly how old are they?

Age changes what they need. These signs are rough, and a vet can tell you properly.

• Eyes closed, ears folded flat, cannot walk: newborn to about two weeks. They need warmth and specialist feeding.
• Eyes open, wobbly on their feet: around two to four weeks.
• Running, playing and pouncing: older, and usually ready to start eating soft food.

6 Plan for the mother cat too

• If the mother is a community cat, the best long-term help is getting her spayed once the kittens are weaned, so there is no next litter.
• Note where you saw her and the kittens, and tell a local trap-neuter-return group.

What to avoid

• Taking healthy kittens away from a mother who is coming back.
• Feeding cow's milk, or feeding a cold kitten before it is warm.
• Bathing very young kittens; they chill quickly.
• Keeping found kittens with your own cats before a vet has checked them.

Common questions

Should I take kittens I found outside?

Not straight away if they look clean, quiet and well fed and are somewhere safe: the mother is probably nearby. Watch from a distance for a few hours first. Kittens in danger, cold, wet, crying constantly or injured need help now.

How long can a mother cat leave her kittens?

Several hours is common while she looks for food. She will stay away while people are close, so watch from well out of sight or use a ring of flour to check for her paw prints.

What do I feed found kittens?

Never cow's milk. Warm them first, then call a shelter, rescue or vet to ask what to feed and how; very young kittens need kitten formula given in a particular way.

Who do I call about found kittens?

Your local shelter, a cat rescue, a trap-neuter-return group or a vet. Many rescues have fosters who care for young kittens.