What you should do this summer ‘kitten season’ if you find stray kittens

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — If you find stray kittens this summer, some animal rescues are asking that you do not bring kittens directly to shelters in order to prevent overcrowding.

Video courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society

Kitten season refers to the time from April to November when most un-spayed female cats are giving birth to kittens. During kitten season, shelters and rescues see a large influx of kittens. Female cats can

give birth to multiple litters during a single season, and litters are typically 4-6 kittens. Cats also can get pregnant at just 4-6 months old, so cat populations can grow extremely quickly.

According to Best Friends Animal Society, shelters’ average monthly intake of cats is more than double during summer months, which stretches resources and can even overwhelm shelters. Kittens are a very fragile population, and shelters want to avoid putting them at even more risk.

What should you do instead if you find kittens?

Best Friends Animal Society is recommending you follow the following steps before taking any kittens you may find to a shelter.

• If you find a litter of kittens on their own, wait and see if the mother cat returns. She will usually be nearby.
• Avoid moving the kittens unless they are in immediate danger. Kittens are more likely to survive with their mother.
• If you do have to move the kittens for safety, keep them close to where they came from so their mother can find them.
• Trap the kittens and spay/neuter them (and mom) at 8 weeks.
• Learn to recognize community cats.

Community cats are outdoor, free-roaming or ‘stray’ cats who are often cared for by members of the community. Because they are not used to living indoors, if they are brought into a shelter, they are unlikely to be adopted. According to Best Friends Animal Society, they are some of the most at-risk animals when they wind up in shelters because of this.

If you’re not able to trap a cat yourself and take it to be neutered, there are Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) programs across the country, and many cities and counties in Utah have programs. TNR programs vaccinate and spay/neuter outdoor cats before returning them to where they came from.

According to Best Friends Animal Society, TNR is a humane alternative to previous trap-and-kill methods of attempting to control feral cat populations. According to the Cat Care Society, it is one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of kittens being born.

If you live in Salt Lake County, Animal Services operates a TNR and community cat program. The Humane Society of Utah also has its Community CATNIP program, which neuters community cats for $25. It also offers humane trap rentals.

A sure sign of a community cat is that they have an “ear tip.” When cats are neutered or spayed through TNR programs, the tip of one of their ears is removed so that they can be easily identified as having been neutered.

If you find a mother with kittens without an ear tip, consider humanely trapping them yourself, or call a local community TNR program. Kittens can be spayed or neutered by the time they are 8 weeks old, and it’s important to make sure mom is included.