Residents of Kayole estate in Nairobi are concerned at the rising number of homeless kittens sneaking into houses to seek refuge – and warmth.

The kittens often look malnourished, or injured sometimes due to hunger, beatings, and harassments they suffer as they try to navigate their new environments.

Unfortunately, very few people are willing to open their doors to these little kittens.

According to the residents, most people who keep cats at home as pets are often unwilling to accommodate their kittens once they give birth.

Some say there have been cases of people stuffing kittens in cartons and dumping them several metres from the house.

Others will load them (kittens) in their cars, drive for some kilometres before dumping them through the window – something considered as animal cruelty.

Julius Abuya who resides in Nyamavilla estate in Kayole said that a strange kitten recently strayed into his rental house, and hid behind a sofa.

“It kept meowing as if calling for its mother. My 10-year-old daughter asked us to keep it, probably out of childish curiosity,” says Mr. Abuya.

Abuya who lives on the third floor of an apartment building, told Wananchi Reporting that the same kitten had tried to enter other houses on the ground floor.

“The house owners may have chased it away, and I don’t blame them because not everyone loves cats, leave alone strange cats ‘knocking’ on your door,” he said with a smile.

Residents are blaming the situation on lack of information regarding existing cat sanctuaries, and myths associated with cats.

One such sanctuary is the Nairobi Feline Sanctuary founded in 2020 and located in Mihango, Nairobi County, and serves as a rescue mission for over 400 cats.

More established neighbourhoods have well-established cat platforms for reporting and tracing missing cats.

Information contained on Kenya Society for The Protection & Care of Animals (KSPCA) website indicates that stray and feral cats are commonplace occurrence. 

“If you come across a kitten, first determine if their mother is around. If you are sure the mother cat is not around, you can foster the kittens, but remember that fostering very young kittens is hard work and should not be attempted unless you can dedicate plenty of time daily to caring for them,” KSPCA says in the website.

KSPCA says it can offer advice and leaflets on how to take care of orphaned kittens.