6 Ways to help kittens this spring
                     6 Ways to help kittens 
this spring
 April showers are about to bring May flowers—and kittens! When the weather 
warms up, most kittens are born. That is why the spring and summer months are 
known as kitten season!
 Compassionate people will always feel the pull to protect kittens they see 
outdoors. However, they don’t always know the best ways to help.
 Alley Cat Allies has the information and resources you need to become a kitten 
hero this spring! These are our top tips:
1. Don’t separate kittens from their mother
 Humans can’t replace the special, instinctive care mother cats give their kittens to 
help them grow up strong and healthy. And we can’t replace a mother cat in teaching 
her babies how to, well, be a cat! There is no need to remove kittens if their mother 
is present, regularly caring for them, and the little family is not sick or injured.
 Please know that even if you haven’t seen mom for a couple of hours, it does NOT 
mean she isn’t caring for her kittens. Mother cats will often leave for stretches of 
time to find food—and she will return. If you are concerned, watch the kittens from 
afar over a course of several hours. You can also try spreading a bit of flour or baby 
powder around where the kittens are to see if you can spot mom’s footprints coming 
and going.
 If you’re really eager to help mom raise her kittens, you can lend a hand by providing 
her a comfortable and safe outdoor shelter, as well as regular food and water!
 Learn more about what to do if you find a kitten outdoors, including more situations i
n which your help may be needed
.
2. Don’t bring young kittens to the shelter
 Many shelters simply do not have the policies, programs, and resources to 
provide the round-the-clock care neonatal kittens (kittens younger than 4 weeks 
old) need. As a result, these kittens are often killed.
 As a general rule, the more cats we can keep out of shelters through foster 
networking, spay and neuter, and caring for the cats in their outdoor homes—the 
better.
3. Learn how to care for kittens who DO need you
 If you’ve carefully watched and waited and the kittens’ mother doesn’t return—or you 
know for certain that she is gone for other reasons—make sure you’re prepared to 
care for them! Anyone can be a kitten caretaker with the right tools and know-how.
 Keep in mind that neonatal kittens require round-the-clock care with different needs 
depending on their age. At this vulnerable age, they cannot feed themselves or even 
go to the bathroom on their own! Replacing mom is no small job, but it’s worth it 
every step of the way.
 Alley Cat Allies has neonatal kitten care information available on our website.
 Our Kitten Care Kits have the gear you need to raise kittens up healthy and strong.
 How do you know if a kitten needs immediate care or if Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is 
the best option? That all depends on her age! 
Our How Old Is That Kitten? Guide will help you find out.
4. Use your kitten care knowledge to volunteer
 Shelters and rescue groups across the country and around the world are always 
on the lookout for ready and willing bottle baby kitten foster caregivers. You can 
be that critical resource! If you don’t have experience, train yourself with our 
information above or pursue training on neonatal kitten care.
 We have a webinar that will walk you through the basics of kitten care here.
 And once you’ve become a powerhouse kitten foster caregiver, encourage and 
empower your friends and neighbors to do the same!
5. Do Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)
 TNR is the only effective and humane approach to stabilizing community cat 
populations—and it is more critical than ever in and around kitten season! In a 
TNR program, community cats are humanely trapped and brought to a 
veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and eartipped (the universal 
symbol that a cat has been neutered and vaccinated) before being returned to 
their outdoor homes. Learn more about TNR.
 Cats as young as four months can have kittens, so it is important to spay and 
neuter kittens as soon as they are ready. A good rule of thumb is 
the 2 Months, 2 Pounds: Time 2 Spay and Neuter Rule. Kittens can be safely 
spayed or neutered at two months of age or as soon as they weigh two pounds.
6. Advocate for programs that protect kittens
 Contact your shelter and local officials and tell them you support lifesaving 
policies for cats, Trap-Neuter-Return, and Shelter-Neuter-Return (A TNR program 
in which cats are brought to the shelter for spay and neuter and are then 
returned to their outdoor homes).
 Encourage your local shelter to adopt a Wait Until 8® program! This unique, vital 
program involves shelter staff encouraging community members who bring in 
young kittens to care for those kittens themselves. The shelter would provide 
training, resources, and kitten care kits to facilitate that fostering.
 Then, when the kitten is 2 months old and at least 2 pounds, the community 
member could bring the kitten back in to be spayed or neutered and adopted!
 Learn how you can help your local shelter save more cats’ and kittens’ lives.
 Visit www.alleycat.org/Kittens for a comprehensive guide to caring for kittens.