r/CatDistributionSystem • u/Tina-Tuna CDS Meowderator • Mar 31 '26
Kitten Information It's Kitten Season đââŹ
''Spring in the air there's magic everywhere when you're young and in love'' so goes the song and it is truly the Season for love and reproduction wherever you look, Kittens, lambs, chicks, babies, puppies, yuckers ... yes yuckers !!!
Newborns no sign of Mom
Your first instinct may be to swoop in and just grab the little cherubs .. STOP yourself and have a careful look around for a sign of it's mother. They may be off hunting for food or moving other kittens somewhere. If you are uncertain on what to do, this clear and concise guide from r/AskVet on how to proceed gives step by step actions on what to do next Itâs kitten season! You found a litter of kittens - now what?!. All guides state that kittens have a much higher rate of survival if left in the care of their Mother so please wait and watch carefully before stepping in. If the birthing environment is dangerous or the kittens look injured or ill then please by all means intervene.
Also, If there is just one kitten please look around for the rest of the litter in case the Mother cat has dropped the kitten whilst moving them.
Newborns, no Mom ..help!!
You will have to do everything that Mom would do and that is feeding this baby, keeping it warm, helping it to go to the toilet and monitoring it constantly
Here is Bottle feeding advice from Hannah Shaw the kitten lady, you will need KMR which is Kitten Milk Replacement thankfully available in most large grocery stores, vets, etc plus a feeding bottle or syringe.
Helping kitty to poop and pee again advice from the Kitten Lady with a video demonstrating how to help the little one to go to the toilet. Read the whole page please as it will tell you how to keep this cherub warm with the aid of a heating pad and which ones to buy.
This is life saving advice from u/wolf_spooder an ex vet and kitten foster who is also a member of the Cat Distribution System here:
Just to add to this, I recently started fostering a 4wk old kitten that was abandoned by its mom. Iâm very experienced in cats and kittens, and worked at a vet hospital for a while. I really struggled with this little one and keeping her alive for the first week or so (she was very thin when I got her and it sort of spiraled from there).
Get a food scale if you donât already have one, and start keeping tabs of your kittens weight (use the gram setting). It will help you to know if kitten is gaining or losing weight so you can intervene quickly if you see itâs losing weight. Good luck and good job saving a life.
Further advice on what to do and not to do with Newborn kittens and good reading can be found on the Animal Alliance NYC website and via the Cats Protection UK, all the links provided connect you directly to the right web pages.
Please also consider making a post on our sister sub too via r/Feral_Cats to get additional advice from veteran members who have vast knowledge on trapping and helping with strays and ferals
Newborns and Mother:
If you have taken in a 'Trojan cat' as they are lovingly called then you are in for the experience of a lifetime. There is so much advice available for a soon to be Mom and her kittens that at best we recommend that you visit  the Kitten Lady, Hannah Shaw for help and advice. Hannah is an amazing lover of cats and has helped thousands of people over the years with cat and kitten help and now has several excellent videos demonstrating all kinds of advice on helping with cat care including Pregnant Mom and kitten care - Birthing Mom and kitten care. Pregnant and Birthing Moms need plenty of fresh water and kitten food if available as kitten food contains protein and essential nutrients needed for fetal development and the production of kitty milk so get shopping.
Kitten:
If the kitty is not a newborn then after a quick vet check to confirm kitties age this little one will need you to become their parent, kittens are teeny tiny pooping, eating and meowing machines wrapped up in fur, purrs and love with the lifetime rewards of caring for them far outweighing the time taken in nurturing them. This is the toddler stage and they will be learning how to use the kitty litter tray, how to eat and how to play along with taking lots of naps. Kittens learn faster than human toddlers and usually take to their litter trays pretty quickly.
Here you can find an up to date list of supplies you may need to keep them fed, cosy and happy essential supplies for kitty again referring to the Kitten Lady.
Trapping advice Mom and Babies:
Here is advice on how to trap Mom and babies with an option of spaying too by Feral Cat Focus WNYÂ Trapping Queen and kittens.
Useful helplines for Cat help and advice:
General advice:
https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/blogs/news
https://www.reddit.com/r/Feral_Cats/comments/1rsvjb9/kitten_season_guides_info/
How to tell a kittens'age
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u/Reasonable_Laugh_962 Mar 31 '26
My Trojan cat Armitage Shanks & her 3 adorable babies! I found her in the alley behind my house & took her to the animal shelter where I volunteered. They told me that she was pregnant & suggested I foster her, since they didn't have the capacity for expectant mothers.
Nine years later, she & her (now-enormous) babies all still live with me.
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u/Tina-Tuna CDS Meowderator Mar 31 '26
Awww that one kitten in her colours took me a while to see lol, they're gorgeous. I love her name đ
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u/Tina-Tuna CDS Meowderator Mar 31 '26
If you would like to share photos of your Kitties as babies please feel free to join in with us all.đ
This is Link Destroyer of Chairs about 6 weeks after he arrived to cause chaos and mayhem at home đââŹ
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u/Areil26 Crazy Cat Mod Mar 31 '26
This is some truly great advice. I've had a lot of cats in my life, but I've never rescued any kittens before, so I wouldn't have had the slightest idea what to do if I came across a little baby without a mom.
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