24/11/2025
This a long post shared from another rescue, but a really good read. If mom is within a week a two of giving birth, we support her through the end of her pregnancy. If there's any doubt, if she's too young, if it's a recent pregnancy, we spay/abort. No likes it. No one wants to do it. But it's necessary.
The idea that kitten mortality rate is 80% is terrifying, and we've seen that when taking in orphaned bottle babies. I'm always amazed at people who have done rescue and never lost a kitten. As of last year, I believe our survival rate was about 50%. I felt like such a failure thinking about those numbers. I felt I had saved so many but to have lost just as many was heartbreaking. Seeing that the actual statistic is 20% survival rate makes me feel a little better, but rescue is HARD.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17UU8yNELo/
Our policy on intaking pregnant cats: WE DO NOT INTAKE PREGNANT CATS.
Kitten season 2024 has never gone away, as it never has gone away from 2023, 2022, 2021... there used to be a "down time" or "break" in kitten rescue where us in rescue could "catch our breath" as we prepare for the next wave of kittens. That was a thing of the past. The overpopulation crisis of kittens/cats within the entire country has reached a critical level. Rescues everywhere are overwhelmed. Fosters are difficult to obtain. Everybody "needs" to be helped. Donations are at an all time low so funding is extremely difficult for rescues and truthfully, without funding, small rescues everywhere struggle to survive.
Rescues are trying our best to help as many kittens as possible, but must focus our efforts on the ones who need our help the most. Rescues desperately need our communities support and understanding as we prepare to take on more.
This will be a long post, and may trigger some, but is of utmost importance.
All rescues receive numerous calls daily from people who find pregnant cats, whose pet "becomes" pregnant, whose cat they just "adopted" off facebook or from rescues who do not spay/neuter prior to adoption "turning up pregnant." They ask me for help, they ask me to take these cats in so they are "safe" to give birth.
There is no "Safe" birth when it comes to cats. There are more problems surrounding births, more complications experienced, than not. The only "safe" birth for that mom cat is NO birth.
I run a neonatal rescue, obviously. I have seen thousands of orphaned newborn kittens come through my rescue program. Many of these orphans became orphans due to birthing complications, kittens stuck, bleed outs, mom fades, infections, deceased kitten left inside, placentas not delivered, and many more complications could be. Each complication could cost $3-4-5,000 for vet care to save that mom cats life. Rescues do not have that funding. A spay costs $75-100 depending on the clinic.
If you contact us regarding help with a pregnant cat, we will refer you to spay abort immediately, we will try our best to get that spay appointment scheduled ASAP at an area clinic. This is our policy, we will not budge on this policy. We also will not tolerate backlash from people not agreeing with this policy. If you choose to allow the birth, we will not provide assistance if/when complications occur during birth or afterwards with the neonates. We will refer you to a list of veterinarians, we will provide educational materials, coaching, and supplies to bottle feed. This policy also applies to other rescues who allow births as part of their program. This may sound harsh, but with the current crisis state of overpopulation, this is a policy that needs to be in place.
Fast forward past the option of spay abort, the kittens are here. No birth complications, so it is assumed mom will do all the work right? Wrong. Sometimes kittens must be removed from their mom due to the moms inability to care for the litter. The mom might not have milk to nurse the litter. Mom might be a kitten herself and have no idea how to care for a litter. Mom might be sick or injured or not physically capable of caring for the litter. Mom might be stressed and begin killing the kittens, yes this happens. Cats can turn to cannibalism when stressed and it is an extremely disturbing thing to witness. Sometimes mom just plain and simple wants nothing to do with the litter without explanation or warning. In these scenarios, since the kittens are born you need to do what is best for those kittens, as well as mom. In the scenario of the mom cat being a stray and the finder truthfully had no option of spaying her prior to delivery, we will absolutely assist that finder with the kittens. This is the heart of what we do and why we are in existence. We will follow up and ensure mom is spayed. In the scenario the finder harbored the pregnant cat, allowed her to give birth, then ran into issues, we will not intervene and intake the kittens. That is the responsibility of the finder. The time and expense will fall on whoever allowed the birth to occur. Whoever allows the birth is responsible for the welfare of those newborns AND the mom.
The reality is the instant a kitten loses its' mom, their survival chance plummets to around 30%. We try our best to give every kitten the best survival chance, but nature is cruel. Newborns NEED the antibodies from their mothers to survive. IF they had a chance to nurse, those antibodies only remain in their bodies for up to 14 days. As their caretakers, we try to determine this timeline to determine that 14 day marker and take appropriate measures to ensure protection as their immune system depletes at that point. Orphans often succumb to infections as they have no immune system, dehydration, sugar issues, parasites, birth defects from inbreeding, flea anemia, maggots, predatory injuries, environmental hazards, extreme heat, extreme cold, the list goes on and on as to what causes neonatal deaths. Our team tries our best. Even if the mom cat is allowed to give birth, the last statistic I saw said kittens born have an 80% mortality rate. 80% of kittens born will die! That is a horrifying reality. So why not spay mom and prevent the majority of kittens from that suffering and pain?
Our rescue sees the kittens who have literally been torn to shreds, eaten alive by maggots, abused by cruel humans, preyed on by dogs or other predators, exposed to the elements and therefore fighting hypo/hyperthermia, intestinal parasites taking over their GI tract and killing them, grotesque and awful what we see come through our rescue program. These are the little ones more often than not, forgotten about, unseen, unheard of, they are the ones who land in our rescue and fight for their little lives. Many perish despite their (and our) best efforts. The extreme suffering they endure because of simply being born, is horrifying to say the least.
Our team is here to provide care for that small group of kittens who were lucky enough to have been found. They still suffer on their road to recovery. How about the many, many more little ones born outside allowed to perish because they were never found? It breaks my heart to think about the level of suffering those forgotten kittens endure through no fault of their own.
Yes, I run a neonatal kitten rescue.
Yes, my team provides exceptional care for each little one who enters our program.
Yes, my team loses kittens despite our best efforts and each loss is heartbreaking.
Yes, we advocate for spay abort.
The spay abort discussion needs to be had. It is not a nice topic. No veterinarian WANTS to do it, but they understand the NEED to do it. It is a topic most rescues do not bring up because it can cause a decrease in donations from otherwise supporters who disagree with this position.
Spaying the cat is the only way to prevent newborn suffering. Period. This is the reason why we advocate for spay abort. Each pregnancy allowed to occur is a HUGE risk to the health of the mother, the health of the litter.
Did I mention the overpopulation crisis we are facing within our country pertaining to cats? Every kitten allowed to be born takes away a potential home from an already born kitten waiting in a shelter. Every kitten allowed to be born is a slap in the face to every trapper out there who donate their time, money, effort, to perform TNR to prevent kittens. A team of 10 trappers could be working an area and all it takes is 1 harbored pregnant mom and suddenly you are dealing with a new litter of reproducers, cats do not discriminate between mating with littermates, parents, etc. All of a sudden that controlled colony explodes with kittens.
It is incredibly disappointing when I see other rescues encouraging births, glorifying births, because while they are making the birth look beautiful, I see every intake through our rescue of those babies behind the scenes, the babies nobody else gets to know about, those babies were the ultimate victims and subjected to suffering, those babies that never asked to be put through that painful short life.
Lets talk pyometra, that cat you think is pregnant may be dying from a deadly uterine infection. If you allow her to "give birth" and she has Pyometra, you are allowing her to die a very painful death.
Our goal at the nursery is to prevent newborn suffering. To achieve this goal, we must start with the moms. Our job here is to provide the care to the little ones who are facing the consequences of irresponsible humans. It is our job to provide education to our community in hopes to create more RESPONSIBLE humans. Spay abort is in the best interest of the cat population and the cats health to all involved. There is nothing more heartbreaking to witness than a newborn kitten fighting for its' life. This is why we advocate for spay abort. If more people witnessed first hand the suffering that happens, I'm willing to bet that many more people would agree. Nature is cruel. Nobody wants do a spay abort, but nobody wants to acknowledge the extreme suffering the little ones experience either. This is why I wrote this post.
Thank you for your support and for trying to understand our reason for turning away a pregnant mom and suggesting immediate spay abort. Our team is trying our best working alongside of partner rescues trying to fight the cat overpopulation crisis. We will NOT be a part of the problem by allowing a birth.
Thank you for your compassion for the little ones and for respecting our perspective. We have held far too many dying kittens to feel otherwise.
Please share this post, advocate for spay abort, educate. Stand up for the newborns who have no voice. Stand up for the mom cats who did not ask to be pregnant.
--Kandice--
Founder, Foxy's Cradle
