I found a kitten, and I don't know what to do with it.

[Maddy McCall]

Awhile ago, I was on the way to pick up a Sunday morning newspaper. In town, something black darted in front of me and I almost hit it...and a van was coming in the other lane, so I stopped dead, and the van stopped, too.

It was a darling little black kitten, looks to be about eight weeks old. I didn't want to leave it in town to be run over. This happened right in front of the town's only vet office, so I'm wondering if it was dumped there.

Well, I have the kitten on my back porch, which is huge and covered, and has plenty of little hiding places. The baby is very friendly, and wants to be held. He looked well fed when I found him.

Inside my house, I have a mama cat with five kittens (I announced their birth recently). When I came inside after getting rescued black kitten set up on the back porch, mama cat went ballistic.

Like I said, I don't know what to do. The kitten has no collar, but it looks cared for, and it's definitely been around humans. But my cat is not going to allow me to keep any stranger kitties right now.

And, on top of all of this, I may be going out of town today. Advice is greatly appreciated.

(Edit to add: We have no shelter in my town. The nearest town to mine has a shelter, but kittie will be gassed if I take her there. No animal groups at all.)

[ET Awful]

1. First, I'd call the vets office as soon as they open and see if they

have any suggestions for rescue organizations that might be able to foster the little guy.

In the meantime, if there's a screened door or window between current mama cat and new foundling kitten, let her sniff him through the window for a while, you never know, there's a chance she might grow to accept him as her own since he's so young . . . you might be able to convince her to treat him like one of the litter. Just don't dump him on her, let her sniff him through a screen window or under a door first.

[Maddy McCall]

2. The vet doesn't come in until tomorrow.

And she's not the vet we use...we use one in the next town over. She doesn't open on Sunday, but I will certainly call and see if she's there later on this morning.

I know this sounds silly, but I'm afraid to put an orphan kitten that's eight weeks or so old with my three week old kittens. There's really too tremendous a difference, and I'm also worried about the health of the kitten. I know my kittens and mama cat are healthy. Don't know anything about the kitten I found except that it's black and likes to bite on my fingers. And, like I said, it's well-fed and has been handled.

What to do, what to do, what to do?

I certainly will call the vet when she opens.

[Crunchy Frog]

3. Do you have any friends

who could take the kitty while you're gone? If you're just going to be gone a day, it would probably be okay just to leave him on the porch. I would think that you could find someone who would want to take him.

You might also put some flyers up in the area where you found him, in case someone is looking for him.

Good luck!

[Maddy McCall]

4. Thanks for the advice

Yes, I'll just be gone for the day tomorrow. I'm sure the kitten will be fine on the back porch. I'm just wondering if it being there and constantly meowing is going to cause distress for my mother cat.

I am going to contact the vet when she opens, and I'll take your advice and put up a flyer on the phone pole on the corner where I almost hit him.

Thanks! :hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

5. I just wish that we were neighbors, since my last two kitties were black,

So I came to love black kitties. I think you've received good advice, and you couldn't do better than your vet. If you can't keep this kitty, or any of the others, I'd consult petfinder, which I'm sure you're familiar with. However, you have to know that kitties are much harder to place than dogs. *sigh* And, IMHO, kittens are the cutest baby animals. Please let us know how this goes.:hug:

Petfinder:
http://www.petfinder.org

And here's the love of my life, my namesake, my Rhiannon. You were kind enough to post a pic of my dogs for me, if you remember, my friend.:-)

[Maddy McCall]

6. I certainly do remember that.

:hi:

I am waiting for my brother to awake. His best friend was going to take one of the five kittens I have, but if she can take the eight week old black one now, I'm taking it to her.

Yes, I wish you did live closer. You'd have a new friend. :hug:

[Rhiannon12866]

7. And I was very grateful, when I was first on DU.

I just wish that I could help you out with the kitties, since I have two good friends in rescue, who are very careful, but have each placed two dogs with me, over the years. And it's from them that I know that the kitties are toughest. And the kitty pic that I posted is my beloved Rhiannon, love of my life, and my namesake.;(

[Maddy McCall]

9. Your namesake was a beautiful girl.

I already told my son that, if we can't place our mother cat's babies, we'll keep them all. We have plenty of room for cats to roam. I'll come up with the money for their spaying/neutering somehow.

I am certain that I have one of my kittens placed. It would have been two, but, again, I am pretty sure that my brother's friend will take the eight-week-old I picked up this morning. If we are left with four cats, we'll manage.

:hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

11. Thank you so much, my friend. She was the love of my life, amazing...

I agreed to take my uncle's two cats, when he died, since his unpleasant wife was threatening to just drop off his animals at some shelter. Nice woman. I had known the other cat, but the second one, who was a mystery to me, was the best cat who I will ever know. I loved her so much and we really fought the good fight, together, and she sure participated. *sigh* I will miss her every day of my life. Sorry, but it's been tough.:-(

And I wish you the best of luck with your kitties. I know how difficult it is. I just wish I could help. My best friend said that, if she gets another cat (and she will) (she lost her beloved cat, at 17, two months ago), she'd get two, so they could keep each other company. I would do this, as well, since I adopted two, and think it's a great suggestion, one you might pass on.:shrug:

I wish you all the best, my kind friend.:hug:

[flvegan]

8. The porch sounds ideal. Just keep food/water handy, and

he should be fine (worried about predators, etc). You can try putting a "Found" ad in your local paper. If nobody comes forward, someone may offer to adopt just based on your ad.

You're definitely on top of this. I'd keep new kitten away from mama cat and her kittens.

Whereas the kitten you found wants to be held and wants attention, he probably "belongs" to someone. Maybe one of the vets will offer to take him in and put him up for adoption in their office (many vets here do that, I don't know about where you are).

If you have a Petsmart in the next town over, you can check with them about rescues, especially if they do in-store adoptions, as many of them do.

Best of luck, and of course, thanks for stopping for the little guy. Many folks wouldn't have done the same.:hi:

[Maddy McCall]

10. I'm not worried at all about predators.

The porch is way off of the ground. OUr cabin is up on piers. And I have the steps up to the back porch baby-gated off, so nothing can get up there.

When I took water out to the found kitten, mama cat came out, looked at him, and hissed and arched into attack mode. I separated them quickly, and realized that they won't be making friends until AFTER she weans her babies. Then, she's set to be fixed by the vet.

I'm going to call the vet this morning--to see if perhaps the kitten came from her office, or to see if she will take it on. Otherwise, the kitten will go to live with my brother's friend.

I'm almost 100% certain that someone dumped the kitten at the vet's office, thinking that someone would rescue it. Bastards. But it happens all the time.

I have to visit my parents this morning, and they live near the vet, so I'm going to stop and see if any other babies might be nearby. There's a big drainage ditch right there, so there could be more babies, perhaps in the culvert under the highway.

I'll do my best to place it. Thanks for making me feel like a kitty hero. I am certain that he would have been hit if I would have left him there.

:hug:

[AngryAmish]

12. Don't give it to PETA

They'll just kill the poor thing.

[peacebuzzard]

16. I have heard more cracks at PETA on this site.

I did not know until this weekend that they even picked up strays and abandoned animals for extermination. There was one thread about the Norfolk PETA on Friday, I think it was, where are you referring to?

[radwriter0555]

13. Crock Pot Cookery recipes are your FRIEND!

Easy to find on line!

[Cerridwen]

14. Awwwww, thanks for doing that!

:yourock: :yourock:

Much luck to you!

[Orsino]

15. Any cat may go ballistic...

...when smelling another cat in its territory. Mama, especially, will be wary while she's caring for her babies.

If you're willing to commit to keeping the new kitten, let Mama get used to its smell on you. Once the litter-kitties are out and about, you can let them meet. By the time Mama is fed up with mothering, she'll be cooler about new faces--especially if she's already smelled the newbie on her kittens.

This may be only a matter of a few weeks, during which time a porch could suffice for the newcomer.