I found a stray kitten
If, at the bend in the road, you come across a kitten without a mother or owner in the vicinity, here are the right reflexes to have!
1. Make sure it's abandoned
Sometimes cats hear a noise and run off to hide until the danger passes. And sometimes they don't have time to take all their kittens with them. Also, it is possible that the mother has gone hunting or is moving her kittens.
However, there are some clues that should tip you off. For example, if the kitten(s) are sound asleep, huddled together, it probably means that their mother is nearby. On the other hand, if they are restless, disoriented, dirty and emaciated, there is little doubt.
In any case, to make sure that the kitten you found is really abandoned, move away and hide. If the mother does not reappear after a few hours, there is no longer any doubt.
Good to know: if you find one or more kittens asleep, a little trick is to sprinkle flour over the area where they are. If, when you return, you can see paw prints, it means that their mother has not abandoned them.
2. Take the kitten to a veterinarian
After you've made sure that the kitten you've found doesn't belong to anyone and that it's been separated from its mother, the first thing to do is to take it to a veterinarian. Indeed, it is essential to verify that it is in good health. This will also allow us to determine its age.
Note that if it is an evening or a holiday, do not hesitate to bring the kitten at home and take care of it while you take it to the veterinarian.
3. Adopt the kitten or give it to a shelter
Once you've visited the vet, you have two options: either keep the kitten with you or surrender it to a shelter.
If you decide to adopt her, you'll need to provide her with several essential accessories: a cozy bed, preferably heated to mimic her mother's warmth (a hot water bottle wrapped in a cloth also works), a litter box, toys, bowls... But also and above all, you'll need to provide her with a diet adapted to her age as well as daily stimulation to allow her to develop properly.
If your kitten is less than a month old, he won't be able to evacuate his excrement by himself. You'll need to help her eliminate her urine and feces, or it could be fatal. How can you do this? By gently rubbing his private parts with a warm washcloth after each feeding. In fact, that's what his mother would have done with her tongue!
Loving and educating your pet also means protecting it against the hazards of life. This is why we strongly recommend that you take out health insurance as soon as possible. This will save you astronomical veterinary fees in case of accident or illness.
