2021-April-ShaggySheet

MOTHER KNOWS BEST
Don’t Kit-Nap
this Kitten Season
When people find kittens outdoors without their
mother, their first instinct may be to bring them inside
or rush them to an animal shelter. But Peggy Adams
Animal Rescue League suggests that may be hurting
them more than helping them. Research shows, when
kittens are separated from their mother, their chances
of survival drop significantly.
When you find a litter of kittens, here’s what
Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League advises
you should do:
1. Do not interfere with the kittens as it may cause
stress to the mother. If you really want to help,
you can provide some food and water for the
mother, placed a good distance from the nest.
2. Observe the kittens from a distance. The mother
may be out looking for food, but she will most
likely return.
3. If the kittens are in immediate danger, like under
a car or in a flooded area, find a safe place nearby
to move them, but make sure they’re still close
enough for their mother to find them.
4. If you have observed the kittens for 24 hours and
are sure that the mother isn’t returning, you may
pick them up and care for them.
5. If the mother comes back and is friendly, wait
until the kittens are 5-6 weeks old before bringing
them and their mom to a veterinarian or to
Peggy Adams to be spayed or neutered.
Now what happens if newborn kittens are brought
into the shelter without their mother? Almost all
animal shelters will humanely euthanize orphaned
kittens less than four weeks old, as most do not have
the resources to feed the kittens around-the-clock and
mortality rate of these vulnerable kittens is very high.
Though Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League opened
its Neonatal Kitten Nursery in 2016 as a revolutionary
approach to saving the lives of newborn kittens that
require 24-hour care to survive, it truly should be a
last resort. The nursery is the only one of its kind in
South Florida and, though it saved nearly 600 kittens
in 2020, its daily capacity is only 80 kittens.
What happens when the nursery is full? When this
occurs, Peggy Adams’ only other option is to try to
quickly find a foster home. Peggy Adams Animal
Rescue League is always looking to train people on
how to be a newborn kitten foster volunteer.
Peggy Adams provides all the supplies, and the
foster volunteer provides the love and daily care.
Once the foster kitten is old enough to transition
to solid food and to be spayed or neutered, foster
volunteers can bring the kitten back to the shelter
so it can be placed up for adoption and find its
forever home.
To become a foster volunteer, please visit
PeggyAdams.org/Foster-Volunteers
If you have found a kitten, all of these resources and more are available for viewing online at
PeggyAdams.org/Found-Kitten-Resources
PeggyAdams.org 23