Rescued 3kittens...now what

Yesterday, my son witnessed a kitten in the road that was unfortunately hit by a car. My son pulled over to help. The kitten that was hit was dead, but there were 3 kittens in a box on the roadside.

He brought them home and we cleaned them up. The poor things were covered in fleas . We bathed them in dawn dish soap and picked fleas off all day.

I would guess they are 6 to 8 weeks old. They are eating soft food well, normal stools and are becoming more active, especially as their flea infestation is improving.

We have never had cats. I have no idea what to do for them beyond what I have done.

We called every shelter in the area, no one is accepting kittens. Some shelters were very rude to us, assuming we were irresponsible pet owners trying to dump unwanted kittens. One rescue said they would take the kittens for a $250 intake fee. That seems a little steep to me.

Please any suggestions? We have 2 small dogs and a backyard flock of laying chickens. I really don't want to add to my animal responsibilities, but obviously wish to be humane.

Thank you in advance.

Shelters are so overrun and overfull, that they have to be nasty these days unfortunately.  But, the fact is, it is not the best choice.  Animals have 3 days tops to find a new home or they are put down.  It is a death sentence. 

The best thing you can do is maybe take them to a vet office and asks if they can help or print up fliers and put them up in the vet offices, pet specialty stores or in the paper for new and loving homes.  Kittens usually go quickly.  Just make sure they are responsible and loving people. 

I would use a site like Craig's list and offer to give them away. Lots of people are interested in adoption but may have low opinions of shelters. You can do a little interview with the people to make sure they are legit.

It's always wonderful to hear from people like you who want to help animals- even when you don't have much experience with kitties.   Thank you for having such a kind and compassionate heart. The kittens are lucky you and your son found them and not someone else. 

You can probably start giving them dry kitten food, soak it in some water at first to soften it, but if they do fine with it you can add less and less water to it. 

Are they using a litterbox? 

You will be hard pressed to find a shelter that will take them, spring through fall is kitten season and many are euthanized just because there are so many kittens and not enough homes. You may want to try to find a rescue organization. If there is a petsmart near you they usually work with local rescues. You can also google for rescue groups in your area. 

Craigslist is always a possibility too. Just be very cautious. People do horrible things to "free kittens" especially around halloween. Free kittens get used as bait animals or fed to people's prized reptiles. Disgusting, but people do it. Requiring an adoption fee ($20 or so) might help weed out any of the crazies that lurk on craigslist. If you have a facebook page you can take pics and put them on there and ask your friends to share and help find them homes. 

Good Luck! 

A big thank you to you and your son for rescuing these poor babies!  If they are doing good on wet food that is ideal for them.     Clumping litter is generally not recommended for small kittens because some will eat it.  That can lead to serious and even fatal problems for them.  

I agree with brashterson on charging a small adoption fee if you are adopting to someone you do not know and especially if through the paper or craigslist.  There are a lot of good people out there; but some very cruel ones as well.  I understand you are eager to get them into good homes; but hopefully any GOOD owners out there will be willing to put out a small amount of money to help you cover the cost of their care.  And they need to be in a position to care for the cat properly too.  If they can't afford a small adoption fee; they likely are not prepared to care for the cat should a problem arise in the future.

If you use Facebook; put up a picture there and see if you can get any interest from friends or friends of friends.  It is a difficult time of year to try to get a kitten into any shelter or rescue organization.  Kittens can be born any time of year; but there is always a big increase in spring to summer.  

Good luck!  I hope they are all in good homes soon!   

ETA: This article has some useful information for your situation as well: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/kittens-to-good-homes

Worst comes to worst and you can't find a home for them, at the very least, get them fixed and let them go when they are about 12 weeks.  I'm not saying this is the best choice but as a last humane scenario.  Hopefully you will find a loving home for them.