First, is the kitty you found actually stray/lost/feral?  Or, could it be a neighbor's pet?

So you find a little kitten shivering alone in the rain. Or you've had a stray cat simply decide to adopt you. Then there's that skinny stray that all the neighbors feed. What do you do?

People find "stray" kitties all the time, and not everyone knows what to do with them. More importantly, there are many different situations that fall under "finding a kitty," and each should be handled differently. Let's look at them, and then we'll go into detail about what you should do.
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• It could be a kitten who has been separated from his mother.
• It could be a lost kitty looking for her home (thus, not a stray).
• It could be a kitty someone doesn't want anymore and has abandoned, hoping someone will find and adopt it - if they even care.
• It could be a stray or owned kitty stuck somewhere they can't get out of (your back yard, the engine of your car, in a tree...).
• Or the mother of all found kitty situations - the neighborhood stray has a litter and you end up trying to care for the new family.

Kitty's condition

First, just because you find a kitty (let's say a large kitten or adult cat) cruising across your front yard, it is NOT necessarily homeless. Many cat owners keep their pets safely inside these days, so when we see one outside, we often assume it's lost, stray, etc. and think it must be "rescued." But, there are still those people who have outdoor or semi-outdoor cats, and those cats will cruise their neighborhoods as cats do.

Sometimes you can tell an owned cat because it has a collar or just looks healthy and cared-for. But at the same time, an owned cat who is lost may look skinny from her travels and lack of food. By the same token, a stray may be fat and happy because the whole neighborhood is caring for him. So it can be hard to tell if the kitty lounging in your yard is a stray or somebody's pet. You certainly don't want to assume it's a stray and immediately dump it at a kill shelter. If it has no microchip, its life is probably over. So, let's make sure the cat you "rescue" is actually in need of it.

If you end up in a situation where you are considering adopting a kitty, check out our page on being a good kitty owner. It tells you what the next steps are, but more importantly, some questions you should answer BEFORE you decide to adopt.

Now, let's move on to handling the different situations mentioned above.

[PIC]  You find a very tiny kitten.

Quite often, a kitten born outside will get separated from its mother. Or, you might come across a kitten while the mother is moving the litter. Mom cats obviously have to move their babies one-by-one. So, don't just assume the kitten is abandoned. Watch it from a distance for a while to see if mom shows up. After that, or instead (if you don't have time), quietly look around for a mom. Cats give birth in out-of-the-way places, so you might have to look under some bushes or in old boxes to find her. She won't be hanging out nearby with a neon sign saying "mom cat."

[Copy] If you find mom.  Whole litters - separate section.

If don't find mom, or you feel you must bring the kitten inside immediately because:

• Harsh weather conditions (very hot, very cold, snow, downpour, it's in an unsafe area like a parking lot, etc.).
• It's obvious there's no mom nearby (it's on the side of the road or some other place that indicates it was either abandoned or somehow made it there on its own).
• Somebody, like a neighbor kid, showed up at your door and gave it to you.

Find a towel or sweater if available, swaddle it, and bring it home, or if possible, to a vet (or no-kill rescue/shelter). They will be able to tell you what to do from there. Caring for a bottle baby takes time and knowhow, and we won't go into that now. But if you have to keep it over night, make sure it's warm and safe from other pets or children. Then get it to the vet, or at least call a vet, as soon as you can.