A man from New Jersey was cleaning up his yard when a stray cat brought over her kitten and then took off without it.
In a viral TikTok video shared on Tuesday by @deriancolon3, the poster can be seen picking up the small kitten as he tries to get his mom to take the baby back. However, despite his efforts to convince her, she refuses to take responsibility for her kitten.
“So a stray cat left us with her kitten,” reads layover text in the clip. The poster can be heard yelling at the cat, “Come, get your kitten! What are you doing? What the hell, bro! You can’t do this,” before taking the little baby in, and asking his partner what to do with it. A caption shared with the video reads: “So I was cleaning up my yard and the [stray] cat I feed left us a surprise.”
Female cats usually have maternal instincts toward their babies, and feel the need to protect and provide for them. However, sometimes they don’t, and, while this can be due to genetics, it can also be the result of external influencing factors.
Stress is a common one. Georgia-based veterinarian Dr. Jess Kirk says in a Vet Explains Pets article that, when a feline mom is feeling overwhelmed or stressed, she may feel unable to care for her babies, and consequently abandon them.
Illnesses and disabilities, such as being unable to provide milk for the kittens, are also often causes for abandonment. Other environmental factors, such as food scarcity and predator threats, among others, may also lead cat moms to decide to abandon their little ones.
Sometimes, feline moms come back for their kittens after abandoning them, if they think whatever threat they were facing is gone.
But what are you supposed to do if you find an abandoned kitten and their mom doesn’t come back for them? A Catster article, medically reviewed by Dr. Amanda Charles, says that, after making sure they have been abandoned, you need to capture them to be able to help them.
The first thing to do is getting the kitten to a warm and safe place, and then wrap them in a blanket, making sure they are warm enough before offering them anything to eat. After getting them checked by a veterinarian, you can set a cozy nest for them away from any other pet.
Remember that kittens can’t have cow, or other animal’s, milk, so you will have to feed them kitten replacement formula using a bottle or eye dropper. You can then begin to wean them after they turn 1 month old.
A stock image shows a tabby gray kitten hanging out in the grass. A cat mom left her baby with a random man and then disappeared, hoping the human would care for him.
Getty Images
Upon viewers’ request, the poster recently shared an update on the kitten, reassuring everyone that he is in good hands.
In the new video, he said that, because he already has three cats and a new baby, he and his family couldn’t keep him. Instead, he gave the kitten to a trusted friend, who has provided a safe and loving home.
The clip quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 516,000 views and more than 90,000 likes on the platform.
Newsweek reached out to @deriancolon3 for comment via TikTok comments. We could not verify the details of the case.
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