Do you know what to do if you find kittens?

Kitten season is nearly all year round in Southern California due to our mild climate. The warm, dry weather of summer means we’re seeing an increase in the number of kittens being born outside right now. And when there are more kittens outside, more kittens end up being brought to shelters by people with good intentions. But did you know that there are actually times when kittens should be left where they are?

While our instinct may be to immediately scoop up any kittens we see outside, this could not only lead to overcrowding in shelters, which are already dealing with reduced staff and resources due to COVID-19, but may even be a worse outcome for the kittens. Although our nursery staff and foster volunteers do an amazing job caring for these babies, a mother cat will always be the best mom, and kittens should be kept with her whenever possible.

So, what should you do if you find kittens? We’ve put together a comprehensive resource that can help you determine if they’ve been abandoned, estimate how old they are, decide when to bring them to us, and more. We hope this empowers you to help kittens in your neighborhood in the way that’s best for them.

Wondering how else you can help? During our shelter closure, we’ve been so thankful for our foster volunteers. If you’ve ever wanted to foster, now is the perfect time to start. Whether you’d love the routine of feeding bottle babies, the excitement of having playful older kittens around, or the ease of taking care of a nursing mama with her babies, there’s a foster opportunity for everyone! Email foster@pasadenahumane.org today to get started.

Because we’ve been relying so heavily on foster volunteers to help care for animals during this time, we are extremely grateful for donations to our foster program from our Amazon wish list! Your donations make it possible for us to continue to provide all supplies to our wonderful foster parents.

There are so many ways to be a kitten hero in your neighborhood. By working together, we know we can weather kitten season and help save the tiniest lives.