Help for Found Kittens

If you find a litter of tiny kittens outdoors, it’s natural to want to scoop them up and try to care for them yourself or take them to a shelter. But both of those options may place them in more danger. The mother cat is probably nearby planning to return to care for her babies. The best thing to do for healthy kittens is to leave them with their mother. If you are certain the kittens are orphaned, the kittens may need your help.  

This flowchart will help you determine the next steps for keeping the kittens safe and healthy. 

Download flowchart

Caring for kittens is a huge part of what we do, but keeping kittens out of shelters saves lives and allows Seattle Humane to provide critical services for other pets in need. If you find kittens outside, please follow the instructions detailed in the flowchart above. If you need additional resources to help you provide care for kittens you’ve found or find homes for them, please contact our team at pethelp@seattlehumane.org or 425-649-7566.  

Community cats are often mistaken for homeless or lost pets. However, these cats have a home: the outdoors. They have found security in communities where they can access food, water and shelter, often provided by caring neighbors like you.  

The best way to help community cats is through trap-neuter-return (TNR). TNR involves humanely trapping the cat, taking them to a veterinary clinic to be spayed or neutered (the cat’s ear will be tipped to indicate they have been fixed) and releasing them back into the area where they were trapped.  

Pro “tip”: During the spay or neuter surgery for community cats, a tiny portion of the tip of their ear is removed. A tipped ear is a universally accepted indication that a community cat is spayed or neutered.  

Don’t worry! Ear tipping does not impact the cat’s health or hearing. The indicator actually helps prevent the cat from the unnecessary stress of recapture.   Seattle Humane can help with your TNR efforts. Contact our team at pethelp@seattlehumane.org or 425-649-7566.  

Not sure if the cat is a community cat or a neighbor’s cat who is lost? Check to see if the cat is wearing a collar with identification. If you come across a cat outdoors who is wearing an orange collar, the cat is lost. An orange collar is a commonly recognized indicator that the cat is an indoor cat who is lost and needs to be reunited with their family.  

We strongly encourage you to get your cats and kittens spayed or neutered. By spaying or neutering your pet, you help address the pet homelessness crisis and save animals from being euthanized. There are also important medical, behavioral and financial benefits to spaying or neutering your animals. This surgery prevents unwanted litters, helps protect against serious health problems and can reduce many of the behavioral problems tied to the instinct to mate. 

Schedule a spay or neuter appointment at Seattle Humane's clinic, or contact other local clinics that offer spay & neuter services. 

Once the kittens are fixed, we can provide guidance on how to find them new homes. 

 

Mom’s (or Dad’s!) Last Litter 

Through our Last Litter program, we offer free spay & neuter surgeries for cats (and dogs) that are brought to our facility with adoptable litters. Your mama (and/or papa) cat is spayed or neutered in our clinic, and they return home with you the same day. The kittens are surrendered to our care where they will be examined by our veterinarian, spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before becoming available for adoption through Seattle Humane. 

For more information about our Last Litter program, contact vets@seattlehumane.org or 425-649-7560.  

The Seattle Humane Spay & Neuter clinic offers reduced-cost spay and neuter surgeries for pets of low-income families in our community. Appointments for spay & neuter surgeries open on the fourth Monday of each month for the following month. Schedule an appointment. 

If you need to schedule a spay or neuter surgery quickly, you may want to consider contacting your regular veterinarian. We encourage you to check back periodically for available appointments, or you can review this list of other clinics that offer spay & neuter services. 

The following resources provide information that will help you keep the kittens safe and healthy in your home. For further assistance, contact our team at pethelp@seattlehumane.org or 425-649-7566.  

• Check out Kitten Lady's Orphan Kittens: A Guide to Saving the Tiniest Felines
• Read Kitten Lady’s book “Tiny but Mighty” 
• Check out kitten socialization tips from Alley Cat Allies 
• Visit this page for information about vaccines and wellness visits offered through our Seattle Humane Wellness Clinic, or reach out to pethelp@seattlehumane.org for additional low-cost vaccine options 
• Reference these examples of set-ups that work in small spaces or watch this video

If you’re able to open your home to foster kittens (or other pets), become a foster for Seattle Humane.  

Seattle Humane's support services empower community members to care for kittens in need, preventing shelter intervention. This allows our staff to continue providing critical care to kittens with no other options from our shelter and rescue partners in our community and across the nation.

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