Hi! I'm here mostly looking for some words of encouragement. My partner and I took in 4 two week old kittens about a month ago. They weren't in great health and we bottle fed them and now they are thriving. This has been our first foster situation and we have LOVED it. We loved bottle feeding them and teaching them to play and they have been so much fun. I do think we are an ideal foster home for kittens because we have 2 cats and a small dog and 2 teenagers who have all been great during this process, so the kittens are really well socialized. The problem is our family is absolutely in love with them and we all want to keep them all. We also know we can't foster any more if we keep this litter. I need some positive comments about how maybe it gets easier to give them up each time you get a new litter or something because I am afraid we are going to foster fail, but we've loved fostering so much that I want us to be able to keep doing it. Help pls!

Hey all!

I just got a ~4mo kitten from a woman rehoming her. She is my first cat. I brought her home and found a few fleas on her. Not a ton, but brushed out 10-15 fleas two days ago. I gave her a treatment and a flea collar, and have since found no living adult fleas on her. I have combed through her 3x a day to check. I plan to give her a bath with a flea wash tonight.

I sprayed our couches and rug (where she has been) with a spray and have been vacuuming everything.

Am I doing everything right? Any advice is helpful!

hi! so i never really had a cat before and i happened to stumble upon two poor kitties by the street! a person that’s usually by that area told me that the mom hasn’t gone back to them in a while and they had given them bits of kibble and water but im afraid they arent eating them from the looks of it. i got them in a laundry bin because i dont have any place where i can keep them and gave them water and warm mashed up dog food for the meantime. the grey one is active and keeps yelling at me but im concerned for the orange one because its not moving as much. they also have gunk on their eyes and are dirty overall. i currently dont have access to a vet but i have enough funds to get food for them tomorrow.

sorry for the ramble but basically, what should i do? im scared to mess this up bc ive only taken care of puppies and these kitties look fragile as heck!! chatgpt said they’re abt 3-4 weeks old

This is kind of an update to my sick foster post, I’ll figure out how to link it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/fosterkittens/s/0KXKWx5YVP
Basically after the shelter took back my sick foster and his sister for observation, they have ghosted me. ONE TIME I have been able to get an update about his health (he was on oxygen) but now I have not nothing. I told them I was ready to adopt these kittens, and was told I would be kept in the loop, but now nothing. I was badgering them on text and WhatsApp. Mind you there are 6 people in this groupchat excluding me…
Should I just give up at this point? I grew so attached to these kittens and I was ready to adopt and made this clear. Now radio silence.

I am on overnight duty for 4 neonates kittens, about 2 to 3 weeks old. I cannot get them to eat or poo.

I have tried different nipples
Opening the nipple hole
Warming the formula a bit warmer
Trying to feed them on their own and in the group
Tris stimulating poo.
Putting formula on my finger
Swaddling them

I have forced at least a little formula into their mouths but I am afraid to shut formula into their mouths and traumatizing.

And of course my humane society does not have an emergency number. Calling the er hospital they said all I can do is keep trying.

They are still moving around when I take them out of the carrier and do the kitten cries, so I do not think they are in danger of dying in my care.

Anyone with ideas to try

Update:
Kittens made it through the night and super playful this morning despite not eating.

The humane society corrected their age to 6 days old. Which I figured since two of them had not opened their eyes.

So part of the issue was I did not have the right nipples and syringes.

Kittens did not know how to suckle.

They are strong little guys and hate I could not be their foster mom, but I am definitely skilled only at one or two neonates at a time kind of person.

Never had an issue when I can focus on just one.

This is Peggy. I trapped Peggy on 8/5/26 with a rescue that is trying to manage a newly-discovered small cat colony in rural Pennsylvania. There were probably kittens from 3 separate litters, very young cats having kittens, etc. They are all living on a trash-filled abandoned property.

Peggy had siblings, but one died from unknown causes (had gross eyes & flies were landing on her, but the real cause might have been a neighbor lady giving her a bath, because she looked significantly worse after this and became far less responsive, so I suspect she maybe inhaled water or consumed something). The other siblings (maybe 3?) have vanished, and either something bad happened to them or their mom moved them because of the trapping & human presence.

Peggy was only slightly above 1lb when I first brought her to the vet shortly after trapping (the 7th, I believe) and she was diagnosed with coccidiosis and roundworms, and a LOT of fleas. She got a dewormer, Revolution for kittens, & a 5-day cycle of Albon for the coccidiosis. The vet guessed she was between 4 and 6 weeks old. I brought her back for a checkup on 8/20 alongside the other slightly older kitten from another litter that she has been living in my spare room with (they were in the tub until the fleas were gone), who had the same issues & was significantly underweight.

At the checkup, they weighed Peggy & she hadn't gained anything. She has had pretty severe diarrhea (at points, basically just liquid), but she has always had an excellent appetite. The vet gave me a few cans of some GI support wet food (Hill's, I think?), FortiFlora Plus for both kittens, another single-dose oral dewormer (pyrantel) and another 5-day cycle of Albon. I didn't know how difficult coccidia often is to eliminate, since the vet didn't seem very concerned about it. I was kind of annoyed that they didn't give me longer than 5 days of meds from the start, though I'm not super well-versed in all this & this could be totally fine. I just finished the 2nd 5-day Albon cycle with both kittens, and the diarrhea seems to be clearing up but isn't 100% gone. Oh also the other kitten is old enough to combo test & came up negative for everything.

My question is: how worried should I be about Peggy's lack of growth? I am starting to get concerned that something else could be going on, but I also have health anxiety and jump to wild conclusions sometimes. Could this just be from the coccidiosis and the other parasitic issues? Peggy is such a sweet baby and may be a foster fail. She has been more energetic while on the Albon, though she was never exactly lethargic. She was battling with a pee pad last night and it got pretty intense. She rattles her tail like a snake when I'm preparing her food for her (Fancy Feast kitten paté mixed with some KMR for 4-8 week old kittens, and I always keep their bowls full).

Does anyone have any ideas on how else I can support her other than the fortiflora? I emailed the vet this morning giving them a rundown & to ask if they think she needs more Albon, and I ordered some Royal Canin Mother and Babycat food. I really want her to be ok. She is the best. Last pic is from when I first got her home.

As title says, I’m looking to adopt a couple kittens since husband and I just moved into our new house. A vet in town has some kittens (not sure on age) that I’ve been keeping an eye on. We’ve begun purchasing cat essentials, such as toys, scratchers, and litter box etc. I’m worried about adopting kittens, though, because we both work the same shift and will be gone about 11 hours Friday through Monday.

I‘ve never had a cat of my own before. We had a dog 3 years ago but she passed away and we haven’t gotten a new pet since. We opted to get cats because they’re more independent. Anyway, if we go with the kittens (I’m guessing 5-6 months old?), would it be alright to leave them in the bathroom while we’re at work? I’ll be sure to set up food, water, bed, etc. And make sure chemicals are locked away. There are no wires near the floor. Or should we opt to adopt a couple adult cats instead? Thanks!

I think the trapper who caught her said she was male and I just assumed she was right and never verified. And since she is orange, that made me assume maleness even more. I have been calling this girl Roger! My foster kitties are Mad Men themed & the other two are Don and Peggy, but now a complication has arisen. I guess she is still Roger, but since I have been saying it like "Raja" (like the drag queen, Raja Gemini) I guess I am breaking the theme. I hope the lady who was interested in adopting her doesn't change her mind now that she is an orange lady - she is such a sweet, scared little thing.

Well, it's kinda inevitable that after 3 or so months in our care, we gave in and will be giving Willow her forever home... Foster no more, now a member of our family (which she thought she was from day 1, we were slow to see it). She won't ever know being dumped or unwanted or scared again. We still have her trust issues to work on, but I can't let her go to anyone else, she's bonded with me alone oh and Poppy the cat Willow is grooming in one of the photos. The other two are our Primrose (calico) and Tigger the Tabby.

My foster kitten still wiggle his ears even though his almost old enough to lean into solid food. Can't help but find it cute tho ❤

Person needs help with finding a solution for these lovely furbaby angel voids

I found this ball of sweetness just 3 days ago, so she hasn’t been to a vet yet. I’ve already gotten a rescue to commit to sponsoring her and adopting her out as long as I can foster for a couple months, which I’m happy to do! She will have a spay and vaccine appointment very soon but in the meantime I’m trying to make sure she’s eating right! I have been guessing 6 months just because of her size and how skinny she is, but I don’t know how else to tell. She’s definitely well under 10lbs. I’ve been free feeding kitten kibble and giving 2 cans of fancy feast kitten wet food per day, does that seem alright?

We called her Helena because we found her on the way home from a My Chemical Romance concert 😂 she makes biscuits and purrs 24/7 and wants to be pet constantly. She’s going to be someone’s perfect Velcro baby.

Hello! I live in SC and am a teenager interested in learning how to tube feed newborn kittens or other animals in that same category. I rescue kittens a lot, and I feel this will be a good improvement on my skills and prevent deaths of younger kittens that come into my possession that may need this treatment if for some reason they cannot feed on their own. I would like to know if there are any licensed veterinarians or rescues that could help me hone my skills and save more lives!

Hi, this is my first time fostering newborn kittens. They are one week old now. They will go to the vet eventually, but trying to figure out their sex. There are 4 kittens.

Before I start, I would like to ask that those whom are unkind, please refrain from replying, your negativity is not needed in keeping this baby well, only your feedback on how to help.

I have a 2.5 week old kitten I’m bottle feeding. He came to me two days ago and wouldn’t take the bottle well and was very fuzzy. Took him in to medical at the shelter and they could not get him to eat either, nor poop. They could tell he was constipated and they did two enemas and although they could feel the poop, it was unable to come out.

The vet was so worried, she took him herself home as she didn’t want me to have a baby passing at my home and she was not sure if he would make it.

Great news this morning when she came back and said he had a rough night but he finally was able to poop and it was hard to do so and now he has watery poop (and that this was fine on a liquid diet), but was eating better so she said it’s ok to take home with me.

I took him home and the first feeding went well, he even had the wiggling ears and all. He was hungry again within 2 hours, as he had only drank 10ml (he did the same with the vet).

Now he won’t drink again and is fuzzy again. I can tell he’s hurting the same way.

I already sent a message to the foster coordinator I will bring him in first thing tomorrow morning to go to a more experienced foster/rescue that can specialize in constipated kittens as I know he won’t thrive with me and I want him to do well.

Question is, what do I do for now until morning time to help him feel more comfortable/eat/poop?

Anyone experienced with constipated kittens that can help? Unfortunately, our shelter doesn’t have staff after 6 to care for a kitten so I can’t bring him back and they don’t have a medical line for care after hours.

Thank you all for the help, and please kind words only, I’m trying my best and I’m already feeling horrible enough, don’t need more egging on in my despair.

I am a first time kitten foster for 4 small kittens that were found under our house in the crawlspace. They were very sick when we found them. My husband and I nursed them back to health and have been taking care of them for around 4 months. We are going through a rescue to get them adopted to their forever homes.

In this time, we’ve become very attached to them and decided to keep 2 of them. Unfortunately, keeping all 4 is just not an option right now, even though I wish we could. They’re truly some of the best kittens I’ve ever met in my life.

My question is, how do y’all cope with sending these foster kittens to strangers not knowing what their home life will be like or if they will be loved and treated kindly?? I’ve read too many horror stories about fosters being returned in terrible condition and scared. I love these babies so much and it would break my heart if something bad happened to them but I know it’s ultimately out of my control since we can’t keep them.

This is my 2nd time fostering 4 week old kittens. They spend a lot of their time in their enclosure, but we let them loose in the room to play and get some energy out several times a day.

Last night one of them peed under my desk instead of using one of the 3 litter boxes in the room. I used a carpet cleaner and went over the area with My Pet Peed. Today I caught one of them scratching under my desk so I put her in the litter box so she went in there, but then when I looked away for a moment her brother peed under my desk in a different spot.

Could this be because they aren't feeling 100%? They are all on amoxicillin for some tummy troubles one was having. Or are some young kittens not great at using litter boxes yet? This wasn't an issue with the last litter I fostered.

Thanks!

edit to add: we clean their litter boxes many times a day! I had just cleaned their litter boxes when they were enjoying some lunch, then they decided to pee on the carpet.

Pic for attention this is my 3rd neonate foster Mei who will definitely not be our last neonate so I'd like to get better prepared.

I'm starting to realise I need a better setup for keeping the babies warm as using reusable heating pads isn't simple as they start off too hot and lose heat overtime it's making the temperature fluctuate.

Im thinking of getting an electric heating mat but I'm struggling to find one that's safe and can be completely sanitised between kittens.

Wires aren't too much of a concern as I can drill a hole in the box I use to contain the neonates which the wire would feed through and the whole floor area is covered anyway.

It can't have an automatic 2 hour shut off and needs to allow me to set the temperature and it needs to be safe as although it will be covered with bedding we all know their little claws can get through bedding easy. Also being between 30-45cm in size would be best

I'm based in the UK any recommendations would be great as I'm a bit stumped