I have found a kitten outside: what to do
Every spring thousands of people find kittens in a park, under a car or in a bin. The first instinct is to pick them up, and it is not always the right one. This is what to do, in order, to give the kitten the best possible chance.
First: is it really alone?
Before you touch anything, watch. A mother cat leaves her kittens alone for hours while she goes off to eat, and sometimes moves them to a new spot one at a time, so finding kittens without their mother does not mean they have been abandoned. If the kittens are clean, asleep, huddled together and somewhere sheltered, the mother will most likely come back. Move far enough away that she cannot see you, because she will not approach while you are close, and watch for two or three hours. If she returns, the best thing for the kittens is to stay with her: nobody can replace their mother's milk and care. You can let the association that manages the local colonies know, so they can neuter the mother later and rehome the kittens.
When you need to act straight away
Some situations cannot wait. If the kitten is in immediate danger: on a road, in a bin, out in the rain or in full sun in the middle of summer. If it is cold, weak, dirty, has been crying non-stop for hours or has its eyes stuck shut. If it is injured, or there is a dead kitten beside it. If a long time has passed and the mother has not come back. Or if you know for certain that something has happened to the mother. In those cases, pick it up carefully, ideally with a towel, and put it in a box or a carrier. If there are several kittens, pick them all up together and do not separate them.
Working out its age by eye
Age changes everything, so make an estimate. Under a week old, its eyes are closed, its ears are folded flat against its head and it may still have the remains of the umbilical cord; it fits in the palm of your hand. At around two weeks it opens its eyes, which are blue, and starts to crawl. At around three, its ears stand up and it takes its first wobbly steps. At around four, it walks more steadily and its first teeth come through. Between five and six weeks it starts to show interest in solid food and to play. And by about eight weeks it is a lively kitten weighing almost 1 kg (2 lb). Kitchen scales help: as a very rough guide, a healthy kitten gains about 100 g (3.5 oz) a week.
Warmth before food
This is the most important rule, and the one most often ignored. A very young kitten cannot regulate its temperature well, and when it is cold it cannot digest: feeding a cold kitten can kill it. The first step is to warm it up gradually: wrap it in a towel, hold it against your body, or use a hot water bottle, warm rather than boiling, wrapped in a cloth, making sure the kitten can move away if it gets too hot. No hairdryers on full blast and no placing it right against a radiator. Once the kitten feels warm to the touch, including its mouth and paws, and moves with more energy, then you can think about feeding it.
Never cow's milk
Cow's milk, even lactose-free, is no good for a kitten and can give it diarrhoea, which dehydrates such a small animal very quickly. What it needs is kitten milk replacer, sold at vet clinics and pet shops, along with a feeding bottle with a small teat. Prepare it as the packet says and give it warm, with the kitten lying on its tummy, in the position it would nurse from its mother, never on its back like a baby, because milk can get into its lungs. The youngest kittens feed every two or three hours, night included. If you are not sure how much or how, ask the vet: it is quick to learn.
What the mother does, and now you do
Kittens under three or four weeks old cannot pee or poo on their own: the mother stimulates them by licking. You have to do it after every feed, gently rubbing the genital and anal area with cotton wool or gauze soaked in warm water until they go. Keep them clean, dry and warm, in a box with blankets and a gentle heat source, in a quiet room. At around four weeks you can put out a shallow tray with non-clumping litter and start offering a mush of wet kitten food mixed with the milk. Do not bathe them unless they are very dirty, and if you do, dry them straight away.
To the vet, as soon as you can
Take it to the vet as soon as possible, ideally within the first twenty-four hours. The vet will weigh it, estimate its age, check whether it is dehydrated or has worms, fleas, eye infections or breathing problems, which are very common in street kittens, and tell you how to feed it and when to deworm it. Do not give it any medicine or parasite treatment yourself: many products are toxic to kittens this small, and some made for dogs can be fatal to a cat. If you have other cats at home, keep the kitten apart until the vet has seen it, to avoid passing infections either way.
Ask for help: you do not have to do this alone
Hand-rearing a newborn kitten is a huge job: feeds every few hours for weeks, cleaning, constant watching. Contact the rescues in your area: many have volunteers experienced with unweaned kittens who can take over, or teach you and support you along the way. If the kitten is older, they may be able to find it a foster home or an adoptive one. Also let the council or the association that manages the colonies know if you suspect it comes from one, so they can trap and neuter the mother and prevent the next litter. And if the kitten is older and seems to be a pet, have its chip scanned: it may be someone's lost cat.
What if I keep it?
Many people who find a kitten end up keeping it, and it is a lovely story. If that is you, the kitten will need its full course of vaccines and parasite treatments, a microchip and neutering before six months, as the law requires in Spain, and a test for FeLV and FIV (feline leukaemia and immunodeficiency virus). It also needs to be well socialised: handle it gently and get it used to sounds, people and the carrier, especially before seven or eight weeks. And if you cannot keep it, rescues will help you find it a good family, with a contract and follow-up: far better than giving it away through an online ad.
Before touching it, watch from a distance for two or three hours in case the mother comes back. If you do have to take it in: warmth before food, never cow's milk but kitten milk replacer, stimulate it to pee after every feed, and the vet within the first 24 hours. And ask a rescue for help.
Educational content from Michipedia, translated from the Spanish original. It does not replace the advice of a vet or a feline behaviour specialist. Every cat is an individual.