Lost and Found

LoveLost is a resource which allows users to upload information about lost pets and reunite pets to their owners. The Sand Springs Animal Welfare Center is a shelter partner of LoveLost, we add animals to the LoveLost database to hopefully be found by their owner. To learn more about LoveLost, or to reunite with your lost pet click here.

PLEASE DON’T KITTEN-NAP!

 The best way to prevent an overabundance of kittens is to spay and neuter before it becomes a “problem”.    Please call Spay OK, 918-728-3144 or Tulsa SPCA, 918-428-7722 for low cost options to spay/neuter your cat or a stray that is in your area.  Kittens can go into heat at 4 months, so please get this done early.

 But, we do know sometimes a cat you have never seen before chooses your home as their location to safely give birth.   First thing you want to do is determine the kittens age.  Kittens rely on their mothers for the first 8 weeks of life — their best chance of survival is with their mom. Do not just pick the kittens up and take them to the shelter.  Give the shelter a call at 918-246-2543 to discuss next steps if you are unsure what to do.

 If you are unable to determine their age, take photos and messenger them to the SSAW Facebook page to be advised on what you should do next. Do not touch or move the kittens. Just take photos. Make sure to get photos quickly and discreetly as mom will often move her kittens if she knows they have been discovered.   If you are unsure if mom is caring for the kittens, draw a ring around them with flour and wait a couple of hours.  Then, check to see if there are footprints in the flour around the kittens.  If there are, then mom is caring for them.  If not, then mom may not be able to return.  If it doesn’t look like mom has come back, call the shelter for further instructions. 918-246-2543

By about 5 weeks of age, mom will start to bring the kittens out to play, hunt for food and learn to be a cat. This is the best time to socialize kittens and start them on solid kitten food for their little bodies to continue to grow. 

At 8 weeks and 2lbs kittens can be spayed, neutered and vaccinated then you can seek responsible homes. But don’t forget mom, or this cycle will continue in an already overpopulated area.  If the cat/kittens are feral (wild), then call the shelter to get on the TNR list.

There’s a few circumstance where unweaned kittens need human intervention such as: 

• Mom is deceased (hit by car, predator, passed during labor, etc.)
• Kittens are in an unsafe location such as machinery, electrical box, storm drain, etc.
• Kittens appear malnourished, uncleaned, or injured/sick.

 During kitten season, shelters and rescues are inundated with hundreds, if not thousands, of requests for help here in Oklahoma alone. There are simply not enough experienced bottle-feeders and even fosters. The best chance for a kitten’s survival is with their mom until it’s time for them to be weaned.

PLEASE DON’T KITTEN-NAP!