You found an injured or orphaned animal: what to do

There are a lot of street animals in Alanya. That means well-meaning people regularly find themselves alone with an animal and no preparation. The most common mistakes are made in the first five minutes.

Your own safety first

An animal in pain will bite, even the gentlest one. That is a reflex, not a character trait. Before you reach out with bare hands, find a thick towel, a blanket or a jacket. If it is a dog and it is tense towards you, keep your distance and call for help.

If it is near traffic, secure yourself first. Plenty of people have been hit themselves while tending to an animal in the middle of a road.

Call before you move it

This is the most important item on the list. Carrying an animal with a possible spinal injury the wrong way can leave it permanently paralysed. Being hit by a car, a fall from height, or dragging the hind legs all point to a spinal injury. In that case, instead of scooping the animal up, slide it onto something flat and rigid — cardboard, a tray, a lid — and carry that.

Calling ahead has a second benefit: they can prepare while you are on the way, and you find out whether they can treat right now.

Offer water; do not rush the food

A conscious animal can be offered water. But if it is unconscious, vomiting or struggling to breathe, give nothing by mouth — there is a risk of aspiration.

Feeding a long-starved animal a full meal is also not the good idea it seems; ask the vet how much and what. Giving cow's milk to a kitten is a common mistake: they cannot digest it, it causes diarrhoea and weakens an already fragile animal further.

Separated from its mother, or genuinely orphaned?

A large share of kittens found in summer are not orphaned at all — the mother has simply gone off for a while. If the kitten looks clean, plump and calm, it is most likely being cared for. Watch from a distance for a while.

A kitten that is cold, dirty, crying constantly or covered in ants genuinely does need help. In that case warming it comes first — not feeding. A cold kitten cannot digest food.

The cost question

When you bring in an animal that is not yours, agree at the start who is paying; most later disputes come from skipping this. Some clinics handle street animals differently, some do not — that is each clinic's own decision.

The municipality's veterinary affairs department also responds to street animals. If the situation falls to them — particularly larger animals and multiple cases — going to them directly may be the better route.

If you want to rehome it

Once the animal has recovered and you are looking for a home, you can submit a listing to the Looking for a Home section of this directory. Listings are reviewed before they go live and your phone number is not published on the site; people who are interested write to us and we put you in touch.

This page is general guidance, not medical advice, and is no substitute for an examination. Decisions about medication, dosage and treatment are for the vet who sees the animal.