What to do if you find a Stray Cat...

So you were cleaning out your garage and behind all the boxes and tools you find a stray cat and her litter of kittens. She is terrified and painfully thin, and her kittens are distressed and crying. What do you do? Should you call your council or your local pound? Should you contact an animal welfare group or just try and move her from your property?
 
Right now all over Australia people are faced with making this difficult decision. It is peak kitten and dumping season and there is a growing population of undesexed stray or abandoned cats with little hope or future. Rescue groups are now reaching their absolute capacity and pounds are teaming with mothers and kittens, and euthanasia is the only available solution. Tragically this kitten season tens of thousands will be destroyed.
 
During kitten season there are few established avenues for people who have found a stray cat. Very few councils are able assist, pounds can only offer euthanasia and rescue groups tend to be extremely full as rehoming grinds to a halt during Christmas and the holiday period. But if something isn’t done, and someone doesn’t take responsibility their numbers will continue to grow and their suffering will continue and increase.
 
But what many ordinary people have recently proven is that they can create a positive solution by assuming some responsibility and thinking compassionately.
 
So you are in your garage and you have found a very thin stray mother cat with kittens. She is clearly very undernourished, and little more than a kitten herself. The first thing you need to do is bring her a bowl of water and some food. If you don’t have cat food available grab some meat or tinned fish. It is extremely important that you do not frighten her, so move quietly and slowly and leave her alone while she eats. If the kittens are mobile they are probably old enough to eat as well, so make sure you give them enough food.
 
Before you leave them to eat, assess the situation. How many kittens are there? Do they look healthy? How big are they? Is the mother timid or friendly? This information is important to know. Kittens cannot be rehomed until they are 6 weeks old, and if they are big enough to be eating independently from the mother then she will be able to be desexed.
 
Next contact an animal welfare group to find a subsidised desexing program. There are many available and desexing is extremely important (visit the CatRescue website for more information). During the warmer months an undesexed female can have multiple litters and by the end of the kitten season her first litter will be old enough to conceive. Very quickly a manageable situation can become out of control, so it is important to act fast. If the mother cat is timid or wild some councils or animal welfare groups can assist you with trapping, and once you have caught her transport her immediately to a vet for desexing.
 
Once you know roughly how old the kittens are (we can help you to estimate this) you can start contacting vet clinics to see if they can assist with rehoming them. Some vets operate rehoming centres and can take in kittens when they are not busy. Remember though, there is limited space everywhere so don’t be disappointed if they cannot help. Most stray kittens will have had minimal human contact and may be timid. By feeding them every day and allowing them to get use to your presence you will be teaching them to trust and this is extremely important with rehoming.
 
If you are able to touch or pick up the mother cat and catch the kittens it is a good idea to move them into a spare room, laundry or bathroom. This will help with socializing them even more, and will keep them safe while you look for homes. All you will need are two litter trays and a bed which can be bought very cheaply from a $2 shop. If you live in Sydney you are more than welcome to collect supplies from CatRescue, including flea and worming medicine.
 
The CatRescue website is full of valuable information on how to rehome cats and kittens. If you send us an email or call our office we can help you to make posters which work extremely effectively. We will also advertise the cats on several websites and send out their details in our group emails. We find that it generally takes a few weeks to rehome and during this period you will be fully supported by our network of volunteers. You are definitely not alone in this, and we will be happy to help you as much as possible.
 
By making the decision to take responsibility for these stray animals, you are not only saving lives, but teaching other people around you to be compassionate. You will be doing an amazing thing, and it is an experience that you will never forget. CatRescue is continually amazed by the many wonderful people who sacrifice a little of their own lives to help stray animals. Everyone is capable of making a difference.

Reference: www.catrescue.com.au

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