Learning how to care for a stray kitten just might help you save a kitten's life. Because of their small size and undeveloped hunting skills, kittens have a harder time surviving outdoors than do adult strays. By the time you find the kitten, it may be malnourished or ill, so proper feeding and a medical check-up are essential. Kittens also need to learn social skills so they can interact peacefully with humans, other cats and other pets.
Things You'll Need
- Kitten food
- Food and water bowls
- Litter box
- Kitten-safe litter
- Scratching post
- Cat toys
Instructions
Look for the mother cat and other kittens. A seemingly stray kitten may belong to a feral mother cat that's moving her kittens or out hunting. If the kitten is in no immediate danger, wait out of sight at least half an hour for the mother to return. If no mother appears, take the kitten home.
Provide food and water. A kitten younger than four weeks can't eat solid food, so you'll need to feed them kitten milk replacement from a bottle. Around five weeks of age, kittens begin eating solid food. Kittens between five to seven weeks old can eat wet or moist cat food or dry food moistened with water. For kittens younger than one year, choose a food formulated for kittens. These foods provide the higher amounts of fat, protein and nutrients that a growing kitten needs.
Check for injuries or illness. Not all health problems will be visible, but if you notice anything, you can alert the vet when you take the kitten for a check-up. Look for issues such as lack of appetite, limping, continual licking or scratching of a particular area, sneezing, coughing and discharge from the eyes or nose. Take an injured or sick kitten to the vet immediately.
Groom the kitten. A stray that's been outdoors is likely to have debris and dirt in its coat. Use a wide-toothed comb to work out smaller tangles and a brush to remove dirt. Use care because the kitten may have an injury you didn't see earlier. If the kitten seems healthy, you may also want to bathe it. Otherwise, leave the bath for after you've had the kitten checked for medical problems.
Take the kitten to a veterinarian to be treated for parasites. Strays inevitably come with fleas and worms and may also have ticks or other parasites. Because heavy infestations can cause serious health problems, and even death, parasites must be eradicated as soon as possible. Flea and worm treatment dosage for kittens is tricky, so leave this to the vet. At six weeks, kittens will also need vaccinations.
Start socializing the kitten. Kittens learn social skills from birth on, but age five to seven weeks is the critical period. A feral kitten older than seven weeks may be impossible to fully socialize. Bring your kitten into a small room or dog kennel large enough to hold the kitten's food, water and litter box. Gently handle the kitten and play with it using cat toys the kitten can swat at or pounce on. Ideally, kittens should also have a "role model" cat that is well socialized. Five to seven weeks is also a good age for carefully controlled introductions to dogs, birds and other pets.