I've found a newborn kitten in Lara Beach Turkey. What should I do?

[whatisdrowsybutawake]

Hi, posting here as I've tried every other avenue with no luck. This morning I found a newborn kitten outside our hotel in Lara Beach. It still has the cord attached to its belly so can't be more than a day old? Mother was nowhere to be seen, hotel staff looked everywhere and couldn't find her. We left kitten where we found it for ages but nothing. There were four other mother cats in the nearby area and we tried to merge kitten with those families but no joy, mothers rejected and hissed.

I took kitten to my hotel room and have fed it baby milk (I know not ideal but tried supermarket and there is no kitten milk). Couldn't find any condensed milk etc either as I've heard you can mix that up in an emergency. It's drinking and peeing as normal.

We leave tomorrow night, the local vet will not help as they can't commit to looking after a kitten so small. Reception unhelpful too. I've reached out to local groups on fb and nothing.

I don't suppose there are any mumsnetters in the area who would like to take the kitten when I leave? I'm honestly considering putting in my cardigan pocket and bringing back to UK but I know there's a hefty fine attached to that option if caught.. On hol with husband and 2 toddlers but managing to keep regularly feeding kitten, feels like having a newborn!

Picture below of course!

Absolutely, but OP knew she didn't have any means to help it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though.

I know she absolutely did it with the best of intentions and that she was (of course) trying to do the right thing.

Ultimately I suspect the kitten was "dispatched" by security who didn't want it in their hotel room spreading disease.

The way your said it makes it seem like you think it is a kindness to leave it, it isn’t.

You say it’s the reality, then you say in the next sentence “kittens need round the clock care”. So your acknowledging they need care to survive, but say it’s best to leave it on its own.

It is not best, but it is convenient. There does seem to be a disconnect between the care you acknowledge they need, and your statement that it’s best to leave them uncared for and discarded.

I have raised kittens, it’s not rocket science, the kitten might have survived. At least it had some comfort at the end.

It is the reality that animals suffer, but we often can’t help, in this situation the OP could, and did, we need more people like that 😊

The way your said it makes it seem like you think it is a kindness to leave it, it isn’t.

Actually, in many cases the best thing to do is leave the kitten where it is for mum to find - especially when you're not in a position to provide any meaningful long-term care yourself.

You say it’s the reality, then you say in the next sentence “kittens need round the clock care”. So your acknowledging they need care to survive, but say it’s best to leave it on its own.

Yes, as I've clarified multiple times, it's best to leave it alone for mum to find.

It is not best, but it is convenient. There does seem to be a disconnect between the care you acknowledge they need, and your statement that it’s best to leave them uncared for and discarded.

No, that's just your interpretation of my posts. I know OP had good intentions but newborn animals should be with their mum's or in rescue/foster, not with a well-meaning tourist in a hotel somewhere.

I have raised kittens, it’s not rocket science, the kitten might have survived. At least it had some comfort at the end.

Brutally - how would it have survived when OP is on her way back home and had nowhere for the kitten to go? As upsetting as it is, f she hadn't given it to the security guard, it would have been left on the grounds somewhere and died anyway.

It is the reality that animals suffer, but we often can’t help, in this situation the OP could, and did, we need more people like that 😊

But, kindly, she didn't help long-term, did she? She took the kitten away from mum and gave it baby milk and kept it in her cardigan in a hotel room. Kitten was then given to another total stranger who "went to find mum" and who I suspect put the poor thing out of it's misery.

It's easy to say she did a lovely thing and gave the kitten love and cuddles but it didn't need those things - it needed mum or around-the-clock care from a rescue. Not to be put in someone's pocket and fed baby formula.

The OP was trying to find round the clock care from a rescue though, as plan A. After trying to find its mum. She didnt keep it to play with.

Yes, I know that. Which is why I've said she clearly had good intentions.

However, the point I'm trying to make is that if you have no means of providing care yourself, you should leave the kitten where it is while you try and contact vets or rescue centres.

By taking it away from mum (when you know full-well that you have no means to care for it long-term) you're taking away the only chance it really has at survival. Feral cats are hardy things - this won't have been mums' first rodeo with kittens.

Kittens are domestic animals it’s not the same as finding a wild animal.

The op had every intention of finding the kitten someone who could care for it properly. In many cases there are wonderful rescues who are able to help. If the op had left the kitten it had no chance. With intervention it had a chance at survival.

Surely that’s better than no hope at all. Its better to do some good and try rather than to look away and assume nothing you do will make a difference.

The best thing for a newborn kitten is for it to stay with mum. The next best thing is an experienced foster/rescue that can provide round-the-clock-care and all the nutrients a kitten needs. Not for it to be taken off by a well-meaning stranger and fed baby milk in a hotel.

I'm not saying OP should have just looked the other way, I'm saying she should have left the kitten where it was while also trying to find a professional organisation which could have provided proper care. You shouldn't be taking baby animals away from their parents when you have no means of caring for them long-term.

I really do think she had good intentions and tried to do the right thing, but just didn't think about the bigger picture and what would happen to the kitten once she returned home.

I wrote the 'dead cat' post. No, it wasn't obvious what the previous poster meant. Some people on here are so obsessed with animals that suggesting taking the remains of a nursed kitten home for a 'proper burial' or some other such nonsense is perfectly possible. By the time I'd hit 'post' the previous poster had already explained that she'd missed the update. So I hadn't seen that when I posted.

In any case, it's just as bonkers to contemplate smuggling live street animals into the UK.

I do despise this holier than thou attitude among animal sentimentalists. Leaving the kitten to the chance of its mother returning or to the course of nature is no more immoral or uncaring than taking it to a hotel and putting it down your front.

I said before, and I'll repeat, that the OP was obviously well intentioned. But that's got nothing to do with being more ethical or moral than people who see the kitten and make a different - and better - decision to leave it alone.

Some people just don’t realise that some people have great empathy for all, there must be some really sad people on here if all they can do is make negative comments about a person offering help and kindness towards a vulnerable animal, (not to mention the laughing emojis) which I have no doubt is a reflection of their own miserable lives.

It's not funny or clever is it. Sad individuals.

I am so sorry OP. What a horrible, heartbreaking position to have been in.

In any case, it's just as bonkers to contemplate smuggling live street animals into the UK.

But did anyone explicitly suggest that?

I never read of the posts to mean smuggling - i took it to mean fly them back legitimately.

Most people aren't aware of the processes involved in flying an animal back home, so it's not something you an arrange in the duration of a holiday. And who would look after the kitten?

But not everyone knows or thinks of that.

The thing is, there's a difference between

its best to leave the kitten op. It's hard, but mother will likely come back. Look for shelters in the meantime

And

I'm not looking after some stray mangy kitten on my holiday

You're simply not going to get the same response because one is very apathetic and not particularly nice

But did anyone explicitly suggest that?

Yes: "Is there any chance you take take him home with you?"

You're simply not going to get the same response because one is very apathetic and not particularly nice

Being matter of fact about street (or any) animals is neither apathetic nor nasty. There's nothing 'nice' about well-intentioned but misguided treatment of animals. It happens all the time in this country when pet owners spend thousands and thousands on elderly or sick animals that are better off put down.

You are so sweet it's brilliant. I honestly don't think that you can risk trying to get it home with you. You've become attached to it though and I'm desperately trying to think what I would do in your situation. Hopefully the animal rescue people will assist. But, hard as this may sound, you may have to leave it. It's possible that the mother left it because it was sickly. Nature can be cruel. I have travelled across India and China, and if I'd tried to help all the animals I found there, in the most appalling conditions, I would have been destitute and penniless. I think you have and are giving it your best shot. Good for you and thank you for respecting life. X

Being matter of fact about street (or any) animals is neither apathetic nor nasty. There's nothing 'nice' about well-intentioned but misguided treatment of animals.

I agree with this.

Nature is brutal, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, and unfortunately human intervention often causes more problems than it solves.

So sad this was the ending, but at least it had a loved, warm short life

Because a lot of people have a deep love for their companion animals and will spend the money to ensure their pet is well cared
for and not suffering which is what responsible pet ownership entails. Vets are very pragmatic and will give their honest opinion in most cases, for example, my fathers cat was 17, had fluid build up around his heart, there were short-term options he could try but the vet said due to his age it would be better to euthanise humanely, all it would have done is prolong his life.
What OP did was offer comfort, warmth and kindness to a kitten who was alone but eventually passed away which is much more preferable over dying alone, so it was well-intentioned. I can’t imagine any human would prefer to die alone than have human company.

So ignoring a cat in distress is preferable to offering warmth and comfort, that’s an odd way of thinking.

No, phrasing it that way is definitely nasty and apathetic. I literally gave an example of how to say the exact same thing, in a way that doesn't come across like one hates animals

Who said anything about smuggling? That's what my entire post was about.

People might wrongly assume the process to get a pet back to the UK is straightforward. Where is smuggling mentioned?

Did you read the Op? Where she says : I'm honestly considering putting in my cardigan pocket and bringing back to UK but I know there's a hefty fine attached to that option if caught..

what’s that if it’s not smuggling?

Yes - because mum may well have returned had OP left the kitten where it was.

The right thing to do is to leave kittens where you find them unless you have the ability to provide the round-the-clock care they require for at least eight weeks (or can send them to rescue/foster).

PP wasn't nasty or apathetic - a bit blunt and to the point, maybe, but that's all.

It's all very well having your heart in the right place, but human intervention isn't always the best thing for feral animals. Unless you've monitored them and know mum isn't coming back (or you have the ability and knowledge to care for them yourself), then you should leave well alone.

Yes, some kittens may die but that's the reality of feral cats - if you can't provide them with the correct care then you shouldn't intervene at all.

Which is what she did, cared for it, round-the-clock care. If the kitten was sick, the mother wouldn’t have been able to do anything so caring for a poorly kitten is the right thing to do.