How to Help During Kitten Season
What to do and what not to do if you notice a pregnant cat, kittens, or a stray mother cat.
Written by Barb Johnson, volunteer with North Halton Kitten Rescue
Contact:
info@nhkr.ca
www.nhkra.ca
Facebook message to report pregnant cats or kittens.
Combined warmer temperatures and sunshine are the beginning of kitten season. Female cats often go into heat according to the weather. Approximately 62 days later, kittens will be born, and rescues will be very busy.
How to Recognize a Pregnant Cat
Pregnant cats are usually shaped like a football, wide in the middle with narrow shoulders and hips, rather than overall wide like overfed cats.
They are often observed crawling under decks or squeezing through partially opened shed doors. They are looking for shelter to have their kittens.
Contact a rescue about a suspected pregnant cat.
If a Cat Suddenly Looks Narrower
If you notice a wide cat and later see that it is narrower, it could be a female that has given birth.
Do not go looking for the kittens. Instead, contact a rescue immediately.
If the mom notices you following her or discovering where she has hidden her kittens, she may move them. This exposes the kittens to predators, stresses the mom, and taxes the energy she needs to feed herself and her kittens.
She may move the family and they won’t be found until they are too old to tame.
Please Do Not Share the Location
Do not tell people you located kittens, as they may tell someone else, and soon people will be coming to see the cute kittens.
The mother cat may then feel forced to move them.
Food and Water
Do not put food or water in the immediate vicinity of a mom with hidden kittens. Food can attract predators, and mom may have to move her kittens.
Rescues are busy at this time of year and may not be able to come immediately.
If necessary to keep mom in the area, place food and water in a secluded location well away from where the kittens are hidden.
At night, remove the food. Nocturnal critters enjoy cat food.
Mom will appreciate the nourishment. She will often be seen approaching the food from different directions so she is not followed back to her kittens.
If You Find Kittens Alone
Moms have to search for food and may leave their kittens alone.
If you discover a litter of kittens with no mom present, leave the area immediately.
Do not take the kittens to save them. Mom may simply be out hunting.
A rescue will know how to care for the kittens and capture the mom when she returns to them.
Please Do Not Try to Rescue Them Yourself
Do not be a hero and “rescue” them yourself.
Instead of feeding a stray mom and kittens for weeks or months, call a rescue immediately.
Kittens over 7 weeks old are difficult to tame. Rescues want the kittens as soon as possible to begin socializing them, ensure they have good early nutrition, and keep them safe from dangers.
Need Help?
Please contact North Halton Kitten Rescue at:
info@nhkr.ca
www.nhkr.ca
or message through Facebook.
Halton Hills Nature Note
Keeping cats indoors, or providing safe outdoor access such as a catio or supervised time outside, helps protect cats from traffic, predators, and disease while also reducing impacts on songbirds and other native wildlife.
Small actions at home can make a meaningful difference for local biodiversity.