The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has some tips for what to do if you find a stray cat in your neighborhood.
Rena Lafaille, the director of administration for the non-profit organization, said that kittens tend to pop up during the spring and summer during the breeding season, and the newborn animals are at their most vulnerable, in need of around the clock care.
First, make sure the kitten isn't injured. If it is, contact a local vet or shelter.
If it isn't, try to determine how old it is. If the kitten is younger than two months, its mother might still be around to take care of it, and the best course of action is to monitor the situation until you've determined if the kitten is an orphan.
Orphan kittens under two months of age need constant supervision and care, so if it looks like the mother is no longer around, again contact a local vet or shelter.
If it's an older cat, it may be a so-called "community cat" and might be perfectly fine left alone. However, the ASPCA does recommend making sure those cats are spayed or neutered and vaccinated against rabies to keep the local cat population in check.
Fostering, of course, is an option as well, and may be exactly what a cat or kitten needs.
"Fostering is an amazing opportunity to help out a shelter just because you're freeing up space in the shelter for another animal in need," Lafaille said.
More details about what to do are available at the ASPCA website.
A person who purchased a winning lottery ticket from a gas station in Florida has until this Monday to claim their winning prize after the ticket has gone unclaimed for several months.
President Joe Biden told a gathering of Native American nations that he would support the bid by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which invented lacrosse, to compete in the sport under its own flag in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Fifty-two endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles suffering from “cold stun” are rehabbing at four facilities in Florida after a flight on a private plane from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts.
Last week's crash off the coast of Japan raised new questions about the safety of the helicopter-airplane hybrid, which has been involved in multiple fatal accidents over its relatively short time in service.
Amanda Perez, left, is comforted by fellow student Alejandro Barron following a shooting on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Las Vegas. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
Authorities in Oregon are investigating the deaths of two people whose bodies were found in creeks this week and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued five people from flooded areas on Tuesday.
