Orphaned Kittens in LA on the Mend with Help from ACR and Surrogate Mother Cat

We at Alley Cat Rescue have been ramping up our trap-neuter-return (TNR) work in Los Angeles. Currently, TNR groups are overwhelmed with the large number of cats in need of help and the lack of support from city government. We have been in the field TNRing and seen the shortage of resources first hand. This fieldwork brought us to the Baby Panther kittens.

These tiny black kittens were found while an ACR volunteer was TNRing a local colony. The kittens were malnourished and had severe URI infections. One of the kittens had such a severe infection that he couldn’t even open his eyes. Our experienced volunteer searched the area but could not find their mother. She knew she had to act fast to save the kittens and decided to take them into her care.

The Baby Panthers proved to be a full-time job! They required warm compresses, antibiotic treatments and daily eye ointment and eye drops, on top of the normal around-the-clock supplemental feedings kittens receive.

Our volunteer got some unexpected help when another feral mama cat she was fostering began to show interest in the kittens. The mama cat was introduced to the kittens and immediately accepted them as her own. The mama cat even let them nurse while she cared for her own litter of kittens as well. Although the mama cat is not socialized to people, she is very gentle and maternal towards the kittens and diligently watches over them.

After three weeks of diligent treatment, the kittens’ eyes are healed. Unfortunately, many kittens born on the streets suffer with similar conditions as the Baby Panthers, but never receive the care they need. This is why TNR is so important. Trappers are able to reduce cat overpopulation through sterilization and identify at-risk kittens in need of help. Now the Baby Panther kittens are almost ready for adoption and a lifetime of love.

We want to increase our impact on the cats in Los Angeles this year, and we need your help to do it. This week we launched our campaign to raise funds to sterilize feral cats in LA as part of the Saving Pets Challenge. At the end of the month-long challenge, the non-profit with the most dollars raised wins a bonus prize of $50,000! You can support our work to help the estimated 1-3 million feral cats in LA by joining our campaign as a fundraiser or by making a donation to the campaign here: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/alley-cat-rescue1

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Thank you for your generous support, and together we will continue to make a life-saving difference for the free-roaming cats of LA.