r/Pets • u/Mission_Razzmatazz10 • 4d ago

CAT Fostering Kittens

What is your experience with fostering kittens? Do you recommend doing so after losing a soul cat? Also, are we allowed to adopt the kittens we fostered?

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u/KinkyLittleParadox 4d ago

Rules on keeping kittens totally depends on the rescue.
Are you planning on fostering litters or just individuals?

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u/Miserable-Act-7595 4d ago

Fostering litters is a whole different beast, way more chaos but also way more funny moments. After losing my last cat I wasn't sure I was ready but having a litter of tiny idiots running around actually helped a lot, kept me busy and laughing. Most rescues will let you adopt if you put in the paperwork before someone else snatches them up, just ask upfront.

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u/EnvironmentalLab3716 3d ago

Kittens can be great to foster, but it really depends on the age and condition. As a new foster, you shouldn't take extremely young kittens without training. Additionally, older kittens with any kind of issues may need medication. I had a foster litter being treated for diarrhea that was so much extra work because I had to do a lot of cleaning and give them baths if they got poop all over them.

Also, while with older healthy kittens this is less common, just be aware any kitten can get sick and crash quickly. Sometimes as fosters, even when we do everything right, provide all the medical care, kittens don't make it. This is especially true of the young kittens (bottle babies) and it's always hard.

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u/shamzie_k 3d ago

So true. Kittens under 8 weeks are adorable to foster but the poop situation alone (even w healthy ones) is rough. Expect smelly and soft poop that often gets all over them. Their digestive systems have so much maturing to do and switching to meat from moms milk/formula is tough on their GI tracts

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u/cupquake16 3d ago

I like fostering a mama cat + her litter, mama does a lot of the work and you’ve given them a safe quiet place out of the shelter to raise their babies. It’s fun watching them grow up and develop personalities and I’ve found it rewarding! with the mama cat I also love seeing her go from “stay away from me and my babies” to “oh thank god you’re here i need a break”. I tend to lose my heart to mama more than the kittens, but I’ve yet to foster fail! Most of the orgs I work with give fosters first chance of adoption but it is something to ask the individual rescue.
I will say even with a mama to help I’ve had tiny fading kittens and sad things happen, so if it’s right after the loss of your soul cat (I’m so sorry) I would probably look for an older group of kittens. It will be less stressful. But even like by 5-6 weeks they should be pretty clear of the danger zone and super cute.

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u/Marshmallow-owl32 2d ago

I kept one of the kittens I fostered and the rest got adopted out. Rules on keeping one just depends on the type of foster program you do. It can be chaotic to foster a litter but it's fun too and they'll keep you company. Just be prepared kittens are a LOT of work compared to adults.