I Found a Kitten…

I found a kitten outside? Should I bring her into my CASA?

Advice from our friend, the Kitten Lady.

lady flexing her bicep

 

Before picking up a kitten, assess the scenario using the Kitten Lady’s CASA method.

 

Consider the following 4 factors: Condition, Age, Situation, and Abilities.

Condition:

Is the kitten clean & alert, or dirty and in distress? A clean kitten likely means its been cared for by her mother recently. Learn more here. 

young mangy kitten

Age:

The age of a kitten will help you determine what action needs to be taken. Some signs of age are its ability to move, play and eat.  Learn how to determine the kitten’s age here.

lady holding kitten

Situation:

Every situation will be different, and it’s up to you to use your best judgement about when and how to intervene.  A safe situation will involve a present mother or caregiver and adequate food and water. An unsafe situation, and one that may result in removing the kitten from the situation, would involve extreme weather, hazards or lack of food or water. Learn more here.

black cat meowing

Ability:

Your abilities and access to community resources will factor into how you respond. Give the kitten the most positive outcome possible, while working within your means and capacity. Are you ready to care for the kitten yourself? Ask yourself this.

lady holding a kitten

Remember that no two scenarios are alike, and there are numerous lifesaving pathways depending on the kitten’s condition, age, situation, and the abilities and resources at your disposal. Advice on fostering kittens, raising kittens, and more are available from the KittenLady.org.

If you have more questions or need assistance from SPCA Tampa Bay with distressed kittens you have found, please call us at 727-586-3591 or email Foster@SPCATampaBay.org.

Remember:

Wherever their are kittens, there are CATS! Always work with local organizations to sterilize the local community cats in order to prevent future births. In Pinellas County, learn more from organizations such as MeowNow.org for assistance with TNVR (trapping, neutering, vaccinating, returning) community cats.

References: 

http://www.kittenlady.org/casa

http://www.kittenlady.org/