Three very small kittens. Another (still not very good) picture of where they are now:
I have no idea how long they were there. This was the first time I opened the front door for days–I always enter and leave through the garage, and haven’t had any knocks on the door recently, at least not while I was here.
It’s the middle of the night, and I have no idea where these kittens came from or how they got there. They’re really small, I think before they should be separated from their mother–I’m not even sure if their eyes are open yet. They’re quiet and huddling together, and I can’t tell if they’re in any distress (aside from, you know, being abandoned on someone’s doorstep).
I’m still somewhat in shock, and I’m not sure what I need to do next. I’m thinking I should find an animal control shelter when I can tomorrow, but what else do I need to do here?
Is there a cat wandering around nearby? there is a chance the mom could have put them there, could be someone disturbed their original hiding place.She could be watching and will move them again given the chance.
You might try find a box and something to insulate them, perhaps a dropper and spome kitten milk to help them along a bit, and leave a small bowl of kibble for mom, if she turns up.
I haven’t noticed another cat, though it’s dark and I didn’t look very hard. I put them in a box, and had brought them inside. In case there is a mama cat I put the box out with a saucer of water. This is Los Angeles and it’s not very cold outside so I guess it’s better to leave them where a potential feline guardian can still have access to them. I have no kibble, milk or water droppers so there’s not much else I can give them right now.
I’m hoping you’re right that it they were put there by their mother and that she’ll be back to care for them. The location of my door is in a relatively secluded place in my complex so I could see that happening. We’ll see what’s there in the morning.
There’s another recent thread [thread=535442]here[/thread] about someone finding kittens in their yard. I’m not sure if they’re the same age as the ones in your picture, though.
Oh, geez. Those are really small, only 2-3 weeks old.
Hopefully the mom left them there and will be back… but they will need to eat soon. Keep them in a warm place and put something around them (towel, etc) to hold their body heat in.
If she doesn’t show in a few hours, call around to your local animal shelter to find the right place to take them - they will need to find someone to feed them every couple hours.
I have successfully fostered kittens that age but it’s a lot of work. You have to feed through the night, etc.
They look to be a couple weeks old. They need to be kept warm, warmer than an Oct night even in LA. They need to be fed every 3 to 4 hours. If left much longer than 6 hours without food, they likely will die. They can’t take regular cow’s milk, but in extremis non-fat dry milk mixed in warm water, about twice concentrated given with an eye dropper (about a teaspoon each) may keep them until morning.
Best is to get some KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer). Besides feeding them, you also have to gently wipe their bottom and penises with a warm cloth. That makes them pee and poop.
I just returned from the animal shelter, and one kitten is now safe in their custody. I had checked on them after waking up and found one still in the box, still alive and meowing. Obviously the other two were removed, there’s certainly no way they could have gotten out of the box on their own or have even tried, and I’m hoping that it was the mother cat to have taken them.
Sadly, I did find one not far away that had died. I don’t know if it was one of the three that I had put into the box, but I’m sure it was from the same litter. I did see an adult cat when looking around the area that could be the mother, but couldn’t tell for sure. Hopefully the one I took to the shelter isn’t the only survivor.
