Can you suggest a kitten rescue near Philadelphia?
May 25, 2019 7:04 PM   Subscribe

My neighbor deposited a kitten that her daughter found into my hands (literally) this afternoon. I am looking for a rescue organization that will be prepared to foster this kitten, but the local organizations mostly give information for adoptions. Who can I contact to care for this cat?

My slightly panicky neighbor literally pressed this kitten into my hands this afternoon. I was hoping the kitten's mother might still be around, but after waiting around the yard through the rest of the afternoon and early evening, I saw no sign of her. It seems she's been orphaned. I estimate her at about a week old or less; her eyes aren't yet open. I'm able to take care of her temporarily, but I'm not equipped to give round-the-clock care for the few weeks a newborn kitten needs, and our house is already quite full with four cats.

My wife purchased some kitten formula and I've been able to feed her and stimulate her to urinate following tutorials online. Aside from signs of the feline herpesvirus that is common in ferals, she seems healthy enough.

We aren't equipped to care for this kitten for more than a day or two. I have searched for animal rescue organizations that might be prepared to foster her, but, perhaps understandably, most of the local organizations have plentiful information on how to adopt from them but relatively little information on how to ask if they can foster a cat.

I'm located in Delaware County just outside Philadelphia. Any help finding an organization that can care for this kitten would be greatly appreciated. Obligatory cat photos here.
posted by biogeo to Pets & Animals (9 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Unfortunately, when I found myself in possession of some tiny kittens, all of the organizations wouldn’t take them until they were weaned (around 8 weeks old). Well, they would take them, but they’d immediately put them down. They also didn’t have the manpower to provide that level of care. Can you find some people to share the burden with? The neighbor and her daughter maybe? That’s what we did. Between three of us, we managed all the feedings and litter box training and everything.

(Edited to say: Awwwwwwwww!)
posted by Weeping_angel at 7:20 PM on May 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


Did you call Morris Animal Refuge? Maybe they’ll have the same issue as other rescues but I think of them as the most well-established Delaware Valley rescue org.
posted by rustcellar at 8:15 PM on May 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


Over a holiday weekend too! You're a good person for trying to do right by this kitten. The Bucks County SPCA seems to be recruiting people to provide foster care, so maybe they could help or could refer you.
posted by carmicha at 8:56 PM on May 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


I would get in touch with Morris, as mentioned, or Project Meow. (Project Meow is centered around ferals, but they're amazingly helpful and I used to know a woman in Philly who fostered kittens for them.)
posted by kalimac at 10:43 PM on May 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


She may not be able to respond, but you could try tweeting @kittenxlady, who is originally from Philadelphia, I think, and has kitten rescue contacts across the country. (Also useful kitten care videos, if you haven't seen them yet).
posted by pinochiette at 6:22 AM on May 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


Hit up Kyle Cassidy on Facebook and see if he'll post your message. He has a lot of cat fans and a wide reach and might be able to find someone local who can help.

edit: he is local to philadelphia.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:44 AM on May 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Thank you everyone for the suggestions. All of your advice was a big stress relief from trying to find options on my own.

Sadly, I can't report good news. We had a difficult night trying to get her to eat more than a mouthful or two of formula at a time. My wife ended up taking the kitten to Morris Animal Refuge, and while they do in general take in newborn kittens (for a fee), in this case they determined that she was just too far gone to make it. We were able to give her a warm and comfortable final few hours and a painless end, but no more.
posted by biogeo at 1:20 PM on May 26, 2019 [4 favorites]


In future you may want to search fb for local fosters. There are often unofficial people who do this who belong to small local groups who have a presence in order to raise money for vet bills and kitten milk . "Cat rescue (your town name here)" or "Kitten foster (your town name here)" might net you some experienced volunteers.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:22 PM on May 26, 2019


What you were able to do for this kitten was a good thing. I am sorry that she didn't make it.
posted by virago at 5:21 AM on May 27, 2019


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