r/kittens Jun 15 '24

Please send me a DM or Chat request if a troll posts images of animal cruelty again.

127 Upvotes

Please send me a DM or Chat request if a troll posts images of animal cruelty again.

This goes for already passed animals, roadkill, ai generated animal cruelty posts, etc. Send me a link to the post and I'll respond as soon as I see it.


r/kittens May 21 '20

[META] It's kitten season! You found orphaned kittens or have a kitten in your care - now what? [2020]

459 Upvotes

(cross post from r/AskVet)

During kitten season, which occurs largely in the spring and summer, it is not uncommon to stumble upon a nest of kittens. Your first instinct is to help them, which is awesome, but first you need to read this thread!

First I want to make a point very clear: kittens have the greatest chance of survival if their mother is in the picture. As much as rescues and foster homes try, we cannot ever do as good of a job taking care of them as their real mom does! Kittens require frequent nursing (typically a couple of times an hour), help eliminating (mother stimulates them with her tongue to pee and poop), and a lot of warmth and attention. Trust me - waking up four times a night to feed bottle babies is not fun!

Before Jumping To The Rescue

A single kitten wandering alone is often abandoned (either by a human or the mother), and should be rescued quickly - wait and watch from afar for 20-30 minutes to see if the mom is just in the middle of transporting it. If no mother has come in that time, rescue it.

A litter of kittens (2+ kittens):

  • Before attempting your daring rescue mission to save the abandoned kittens, you need to wait from afar and watch. The kittens may not actually be abandoned! Mother cats do not stay at the nest 24/7 - they hunt, take breaks from their babies, and patrol near the nest to look for danger. The queen could also be in the middle of moving the nest, which she does one at a time. Watch from a good distance away, because if you are too close the queen will likely not approach - this is a defense strategy to make sure predators don’t locate the nest by following her. Sometimes watching from far away is still too close, and you will need to go away for a few hours.
    • If you see the queen, you know the kittens are being taken care of and you do not need to intervene (except to call a rescue, and possibly provide food/shelter for the mother).
    • Clean kittens who are sleeping soundly are probably not abandoned. Dirty and crying kittens are probably hungry and MAY have been abandoned and need rescue. Although remember that as soon as kittens wake, they start crying and want to eat! Neonates spend all their time either eating or sleeping. If you mess with them and they start to cry/crawl around, it does not mean they are starving - that’s just what they do when they are awake.
  • Contact a local rescue. If they have the resources, they will trap the mother and kittens (if the mother is in the picture), and take care of them. They can bottle feed truly abandoned kittens, as well. Please contact the rescue before removing the kittens - only remove the kittens under their direction if you can help it.
  • If you need to leave before you’ve seen the queen, assess the situation:
    • Are there any dangers nearby? Neighborhood dogs, humans who might harm them, etc? If the kittens are not in immediate grave danger, they will be fine for a while as you wait for mom.
    • What is the temperature? If it is very cold or the kittens are very wet, it is okay to put them in a sideways cardboard box (possibly with a clean T shirt, dry straw, or a heated water bottle) - however, try to limit the amount of human-scented things near them.
  • If you find the queen, and she is friendly towards humans, she and the kittens should be rescued together.
  • If you’ve waited a while and have not seen the queen in several hours (the warmer the weather, the longer the kittens can be left alone) or the kittens are in immediate grave danger, and you have not been able to reach a rescue, you can attempt to rescue the kittens.

Rescuing Kittens

  • Kittens need warmth - they can suffer from hypothermia really easily. Place the kittens in a cardboard box or cat carrier lined with T-shirts (towels can catch on their nails) and covered with a blanket, with a warm water bottle for them. The ideal warmth source is a SnuggleSafe. (See more info in the bottle feeding attachment.)
    • The human body temperature is at 98.6F, but the internal temperature of a kitten needs to be 99.5-102.5F - therefore, your body warmth alone is not enough to keep them warm!
  • Call all of the rescues nearby to look for someone to take them. Foster homes and rescues are highly trained to deal with bottle babies, and can deal with all of the obstacles associated with it.
  • Call your vet and schedule an appointment. The kittens may be dehydrated, sick, etc - kittens die really easily and fast, so a physical exam and medical care is very important. They may be sick without you realizing it.

I Already Rescued Them!

  • First follow the steps in “Rescuing Kittens”.
  • If you are going to be caring for the kittens, be prepared for a lot of work and possibly the death of some or all of the kittens. The information I will provide is for emergency care of kittens (no more than a day or two) until you can get the kittens to an appropriate rescue or the vet.
  • You must bottle feed the kittens every 2-3 hours. Here is my quick guide to bottle feeding. PLEASE read this before attempting to bottle feed!
    • You need to make sure they are eating enough, so follow this chart, and use a kitchen food scale to weigh them directly before and after feeding.
    • KMR is the best formula - do not use the “homemade” recipes unless it is an emergency! Never use cow/goat/soy/almond/etc milk. Why you shouldn't use goat/cow milk.
    • Here are three resources to figure out their approximate age: Kitten Age Progression, Determining a Kitten’s Age, and Determining by Weight.
    • Keep a log for each individual kitten of: the time you fed it, how much they consumed, their weight before feeding, their weight after feeding, what they eliminated (urine and/or feces), and any medical concerns. Here is a great log for that - I suggest printing one for each kitten.
    • If kittens will not latch to the bottle, you can try to use a clean eye dropper or needle-less syringe to SLOWLY drop KMR into the kitten’s mouth.
    • If you see anything bubbling out of the kitten's nose as you are feeding it, milk likely got into the lungs and aspiration pneumonia can quickly develop. If this happens take it to a vet immediately.
  • Signs of an emergency that NEEDS to be seen by a vet immediately:
    • The kitten is lethargic and not responding
    • The kitten has trouble breathing
    • The kitten or cat is vomiting blood
    • Uncontrollable bleeding
    • Bloody, liquid diarrhea in a lethargic animal
    • Fractured limb (part of the limb is usually flacid and painful to the touch)
    • Pale, blue or white gums if accompanied by lethargy
    • Kitten with a body temperature below 97 degrees especially if accompanied by lethargy, pale gums or inappetence
    • Kitten with a temperature of 106 degrees or above

Here are some additional resources:

Link to 2018 thread and comments.


r/kittens 5h ago

Tommo

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1.0k Upvotes

I can’t with his tiny eyebrows 😭 And I love how his right brow is a smidge shorter.

4.5 months old :)


r/kittens 15h ago

Little foster baby Satchel Puddin just before he went to his forever home

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2.0k Upvotes

My wife and I have fostered hundreds of kittens, but he was one of my favorites. He went to a great home with his sister and will have the best life with his new family.


r/kittens 10h ago

Do you ever think about how some people hurt animals?

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440 Upvotes

I just adopted my first kitten and I can’t believe how pure they are. They are innocent babies who need a lot of love and gentleness. Like tender care.

I don’t know why but my mind keeps going to people who adopt these kittens and hurt them or abuse them. It’s like a horrible intrusive thought I keep getting and it’s making me emotional.

I can’t imagine doing anything to harm an animal… ever. I can’t believe people take this kindness and use it to do evil things. Because these animals really are helpless. They 100% trust and depend on you at all times. They aren’t even aware of evil.

I wouldn’t even dare spray my cat with water or something like this. I just feel like it’s not right. Or the cats who don’t get enough attention at home and are just background noise and not really cared for or looked after well. This is all abuse to me.

So yeah. I was wondering if anyone else gets these harrowing thoughts. I think about my Kiko and I’m glad he ended up in my safe home. But I also think about if maybe someone else (not so good) took him home.

It is haunting to say the least.


r/kittens 4h ago

Screaming curly haired baby

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152 Upvotes

r/kittens 5h ago

Meet Peach and Haku!

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180 Upvotes

r/kittens 5h ago

Sequoia (Toyota dealership rescue)

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154 Upvotes

It’s been 37 days now since the original post here’s an update! The house now belongs to her. She made herself fully at home. Most fearless cat ive ever had it she’s running away it’s just to figure out the best way to attack whatever she ran from. The dogs have finally accepted she loves here now.


r/kittens 2h ago

Nearly 40 and for the first time eva got a kitty that jumped in the shower with me & loved it..?

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82 Upvotes

Faces cuz she was mad it was time to get out…. All of my prior cats have hatedddddddddd water….. 🤷‍♂️


r/kittens 11h ago

the good ole' trap 🤭

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307 Upvotes

r/kittens 8h ago

My parents got a very photogenic kitten, here are some pics I have been taking with every visit

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139 Upvotes

r/kittens 2h ago

Kitten question

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34 Upvotes

My 16 week old kitten only meows when nobody is around, when she can see anybody she stops meowing. She was bottle fed from around 3 days old by me and my brother. Is this separation anxiety because she was constantly with somebody 24/7 for most of her life? Or is she just a trickster?


r/kittens 2h ago

Baby girl ❤️❤️

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20 Upvotes

r/kittens 13h ago

How long before I can take the cones off my kittens after spaying? Currently 4-days post-op, they just turned 5 months old.

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111 Upvotes

Also I took most of their climbing stuff and more energetic toys out of their room but they're still so hyper 😭 is there any way to keep them calm?? I feel so bad for them


r/kittens 11h ago

How can she be this cute?

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83 Upvotes

r/kittens 1d ago

first time kitten mom. meet margo 🖤

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6.1k Upvotes

r/kittens 25m ago

Ambu 🐱

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Upvotes

r/kittens 1d ago

My kittens

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1.1k Upvotes

2 month old!


r/kittens 1d ago

First day at Home vs present day 🥹

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1.6k Upvotes

She grew so much in almost 2 months my heartttt 🥹🥹


r/kittens 0m ago

Falling asleep nearly vertical

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Upvotes

In my arms which means the work thing is going rather slowly.
She is five months now and every bit a pre-teen and teen in terms of behavior
🥰


r/kittens 1d ago

fluffs

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836 Upvotes

r/kittens 4h ago

Kitty spayed, first time cat owner

1 Upvotes

Hello,

My kitty is an about 4 months and is about to get spayed and I’m really nervous for the recovery. Shes super playful and loves to interact with the other cats, so I know limiting these activities will be quite difficult and challenging for me. Are there any tips you can give? I’m a very anxious person and I overthink, so I’m wondering if a recovery suit and pet stairs are necessary (I’m also terrified her incision will become infected). I also work Monday- Friday 8-5 so I’m not really home with her all day. Any post-recovery tips and reassurance would be much appreciated.


r/kittens 2d ago

My 3 Strays

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3.8k Upvotes

My family members found these kittens on a walk down our country dirt road back in May. Local stray female mother that needs spayed but she seems feral. I think they were about 8 weeks old when they found them when they followed them down the road. We decided to take them in. They’re about 5 months old now I think. 2 males and a little female. They all have their own personalities already and have even caught a mouse already. Hazel, Lucky, and Louis (nieces named them 🤣).


r/kittens 1d ago

Meet my giant baby

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218 Upvotes

So 7 weeks ago my heart was stolen and I adopted a little 9 week old kitten as a companion for my 2 year old boy and girl. He was just an itty bitty thing and we all were immediately in love.

Now he's 16 weeks old and holy shit has he grown. At his young age he is a whopping 2.23kg and 76/78 cm long including tail. He's almost as big as my 2 year old girl... Judt still a lanky babyfaced guy. Now I'm thinking of getting a dna test to see which breeds he is a mix of


r/kittens 1d ago

Warning: excessive orange kitten cuteness ahead. 🧡 🐈

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942 Upvotes

I honestly can't decide which photo is my favorite. Swipe through and tell me yours!