Welcome back to Members' Corner, where our community members talk about the issues they're most passionate and knowledgeable about. In this edition, we have Horror and Cats regaling us with his experience rescuing a litter of kittens that were abandoned near his house. We'll let him take it away, complete with pictures of the kittens he rescued:

"I got lucky in a very big way because their mother was also dumped, so they had food and protection to help them survive. However, I couldn't help but think how much more difficult it would have been to not only ensure they stayed put as I slowly brought them in, but also how much tougher it would have been to keep them nourished once I had them inside as they were still at nursing age.

"So, for a ‘next time’ that I hope will never happen, here is my cat/kitten rescue kit! I suggest every cat lover in any living environment has these simple items on hand."

A humane capture trap

"By far the most expensive item in the rescue kit, but also the most crucial, is the humane capture trap. The brand I have is a Havahart live trap, which comes in a number of different sizes. The one I used set me back around $110. Once you've got it, you'll basically never have to worry about having a trap on hand again. It is excellently built and has very clever pressure plate resistance settings to be fine tuned to your needs and/or the animal you're trapping."

Kitten feeding bottles and formula

"Just like human babies, kittens can be fed with formula! Any pet store ought to have both feeding bottles and formula on hand. Formula also has an impressive shelf life, so make sure you buy enough to feed eight kittens for two months to be completely safe. That will cover even the largest litters from day one to month two when they can safely eat kitten chow. That much formula will likely be expensive, but since you’re stocking up for an emergency, you can just buy a little at a time until you've got your kit stocked."

Eye infection treatment drops

"If you've got feral kittens, or they were dumped, you’re basically guaranteed to have at least one end up with an eye infection. Upper-respiratory infections are incredibly common with kittens, so you'll want to know where you can get some Gentamicin Ophthalmic Solution 0.3% on short notice.

"You do not want to preemptively buy this item, just know where you can get it nearby. It is only good for 30 days even when refrigerated.

"There you have it! The bare minimum you will need to rescue cats or kittens."

Horror and Cats's excellent advice was expanded upon by dianthus too, who recommends the following:

"Look up the contact info of your local shelter, neuter-and-release, and/or vet, including emergency vet services in advance!

"My mum is a retired dog trainer and we used to board dogs as well (when people go on holidays, for example), and people used to dump unwanted puppies on us all the time. It became such an issue that we had to change our address on Google Maps so that it would stop happening. That's how I gained a little experience on the subject!

"Other useful supplies include but are not limited to: lots of old journal paper, blunt syringes, a vet first aid kit (be very mindful to check the products are animal safe).

"Taking care of baby animals is a lot of work, especially when they're really young. Puppies, for example, need to be fed every two hours, day and night, in the first few weeks. Your local animal-related services might be able to provide sound advice that's relevant to your local area on how to best care for the animals and find them a place to live, as we are not all ready to adopt a plethora of baby animals on the fly.

"For example, if you notice lots of stray cats, it's definitely better to check in with your local groups to see if there's a neuter-and-release program in place. Stray cats can make great pets but that requires a lot of socialisation work. More than you'd expect, even if they come and let you pet them when outside. Do not try to trap a stray cat, put it in your home, and just expect it to go well."

Horror and Cats replied with a little more explanation from their experience:

"Yes, stray or feral adults are a real struggle. The kittens were my primary focus, but since the mama was there too I made sure to bring her in to care for them. Definitely wouldn't just try and catch adult cats running around, especially out here in the country.

"I spayed and released the kittens' mama because she was so territorial my other adult cats would not have been happy (kittens and mom lived separately from the others in my bathroom in case of disease), so I just put food and water out for the mama in the back of my property where the dogs don't go."

Kudos to Horror and Cats for their selfless deed, Dianthus for sharing their knowledge on the subject, and to both for teaching us all how we can do the same if we end up in similar circumstances. We're looking forward to seeing updates on the cats in the future!

If you're looking for more Members' Corner submissions to read, check out this deep dive from mar1gold on why differing definitions of genocide matter, Konquest's introduction to musical theory, and Horror and Cats's previous appearance discussing tomahawk throwing. Not anywhere near the cats, we hope.

Thanks again to all submissions to the latest Members' Corner reward; you can find all original entries here. We plan to run more Members' Corner rewards in future, so keep an eye out for those, along with more curated articles based on the winners of these rewards.