Project Description: Orphaned Neonatal Kitten Life-Saving Program
The Orphaned Neonatal Kitten Life-Saving Program at Rusty’s Rescue Inc. is dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable and frequently euthanized animals in the entire shelter system: newborn “bottle baby” kittens who arrive without a mother.
Every year, thousands of neonatal kittens enter California shelters. These tiny lives—often just hours or days old—are at immediate risk. They cannot eat on their own, cannot regulate their body temperature, and require feeding every 2–3 hours, around the clock. Because municipal shelters are not staffed overnight and lack the specialized resources needed for this level of care, neonatal kittens are commonly euthanized the same day they arrive, not due to illness, but because they are too fragile to survive in traditional shelter environments.
Rusty’s Rescue steps in to fill this critical gap.
Our Orphaned Neonatal Kitten Program provides:
*24/7 Intensive Care
*Kittens receive bottle feeding, warming, stimulation, and hydration every few hours, day and night. Many require incubators, specialized formula, antibiotics, parasite treatments, and continuous monitoring to survive.
*Emergency Medical Support
*Because most neonatal kittens arrive malnourished, hypothermic, flea-infested, or exposed to infections, they receive immediate veterinary evaluation and ongoing medical care. We treat upper respiratory infections, GI parasites, failure-to-thrive, and dehydration—conditions that are life-threatening at this age.
*Fast Response to Shelter Emergencies
*Animal Control and local shelters contact us as soon as orphaned litters are found. We respond rapidly to prevent unnecessary euthanasia and give these kittens a fighting chance.
Specialized Foster Training & Supplies
We train volunteer fosters to provide safe, effective neonatal care, supplying them with formula, bottles, heating pads, incubators, scales, medications, and sanitation materials.
Why This Project Matters
Newborn orphaned kittens have one of the highest mortality rates of all shelter animals—unless they receive specialized care.
Every successful intake represents a life saved from certain euthanasia.
With our program:
✔ Kittens who were hours from euthanasia grow, thrive, and find adoptive homes.
✔ Shelters are relieved of impossible burdens during peak intake seasons.
✔ Families and children throughout the community benefit from well-socialized, healthy kittens.
✔ A population once considered “un-saveable” becomes fully adoptable.
Funding Need
This program is one of the most resource-intensive efforts at Rusty’s Rescue. Costs include:
Kitten formula & food
Bottles, nipples, and feeding supplies
Incubators and heating pads
Medications & emergency veterinary care
Sanitation supplies (laundry, disinfectants, gloves, linens)
Parasite treatment
Around-the-clock staffing or foster support
Because each kitten requires weeks of intensive, hands-on care, funding directly impacts how many newborns we can save.
Project Goal
To ensure that no orphaned neonatal kitten is euthanized simply because shelters lack the resources to save them.
Our goal is to expand lifesaving capacity, increase intake partnerships with local shelters, and provide every fragile newborn with the medical care, warmth, nutrition, and love required to survive.
