Foster Parents in the house?

[gibbrishclown]

Hey all. I just found out about a momma cat and six unweaned kittens (who are sick and may die) who are about to be put down by the shelter they're in because they're out of space. I offered to foster even though I have PLENTY of pets of my own, because it seems wrong to kill a whole family for any reason. I've offered a bedroom that no other pets go into. They want to do a home visit and some paperwork first... I understand there are procedures, now I need to find out what they're going to be looking for in a home visit so that I can satisfy the requirements and take these cats and give them the best chance I can... suggestions, thoughts, all of it is requested and appreciated!! Thanks in advance

Oh yeah and if there are any fosters around Orange County NC, you too could rescue these kitties, PM me!

 

[J's crew]

Hey all. I just found out about a momma cat and six unweaned kittens (who are sick and may die) who are about to be put down by the shelter they're in because they're out of space. I offered to foster even though I have PLENTY of pets of my own, because it seems wrong to kill a whole family for any reason. I've offered a bedroom that no other pets go into. They want to do a home visit and some paperwork first... I understand there are procedures, now I need to find out what they're going to be looking for in a home visit so that I can satisfy the requirements and take these cats and give them the best chance I can... suggestions, thoughts, all of it is requested and appreciated!! Thanks in advance

Oh yeah and if there are any fosters around Orange County NC, you too could rescue these kitties, PM me!

The rescue organizations I am involved with will check your house to make sure the living conditions are good, ie. cleanliness, space. They will be looking at your pets also, to make sure they are in good physical shape and such. They will also make sure your pets are up to date on vaccinations.

I have the same setup as you so you should be fine. Whenever I foster a cat or a litter of kittens I convert my guest bedroom into their own private sanctuary with toys, beds, litterbox, etc.
Hey, maybe thats why I never have houseguests! :yikes:

 

[gibbrishclown]

I have three dogs and two cats that live in the basement of my split level home (I also live down there and that's where I sleep) and there is a cat that lives upstairs with my sister, but she doesn't go into my bedroom up there... well can't when the door is shut...lol...I hope they don't decide against letting me do this because of my other pets. I have some healthy pets though, and all their vet records, I think are printed out and ready.

 

[J's crew]

I have three dogs and two cats that live in the basement of my split level home (I also live down there and that's where I sleep) and there is a cat that lives upstairs with my sister, but she doesn't go into my bedroom up there... well can't when the door is shut...lol...I hope they don't decide against letting me do this because of my other pets. I have some healthy pets though, and all their vet records, I think are printed out and ready.

I have met some funny people when it comes to rescue organizations so you never know for sure. But, just to give you an example, I have 4 dogs of my own and two cats. I currently have one foster dog, and 3 kittens.
It is a very full house but I spend every moment I am not working taking care of the animals. I also get help from the neighbor kids. They come over to play with the kittens every day and I even have a neice that comes over to help with dog walking.
It is very possible to do, especially if you have help.

 

[gibbrishclown]

I have met some funny people when it comes to rescue organizations so you never know for sure. But, just to give you an example, I have 4 dogs of my own and two cats. I currently have one foster dog, and 3 kittens.
It is a very full house but I spend every moment I am not working taking care of the animals. I also get help from the neighbor kids. They come over to play with the kittens every day and I even have a neice that comes over to help with dog walking.
It is very possible to do, especially if you have help.

I appreciate your input and support. My sister shares the house with me and I can see her and her boyfriend helping out in there, especially in the "give them love" category. I don't have troubles in the house with the dogs or cats I own, other than the fat female cat doesn't like my sister's female cat, hence the constant separation. My male cat, Ollie-boy, is a player though and he goes between females... If he's not with my sister's cat Snitch, he'd rather be with my dogs He was raised in Proof's mouth. She's going to be a vibrating quivering drooling mess when she finds out there are kittens around...lol... sounds sick, and I wouldn't just let her go at sick kittens or anything, but she (I think) thinks she's a momma cat as she is constantly grooming my cats. She's very protective of her kitties, even when they're fighting eachother...lol... she's got to be in the middle to make sure Snitch (her youngest) is OK...I have a big yard for the dogs to be in and I can miss out on telivision and sit with this family instead, with the dogs playing outside... sounds simple enough to me, I just hope the rescue group sees it my way... or finds another foster home for them!! Don't get me wrong, I don't WANT 7 more cats in my house, but I definitely don't want 7 cats to die because there wasn't enough room for them anywhere either!

 

[gibbrishclown]

Yayy!! I have a home visit tonight. I think as long as they don't freak out about the number of pets I have,(which they have yet to ask me about) I'll be able to help this family of cats. I don't think my pets should be an issues, because they won't be anywhere near this family for a long time to come. Once the kittens are weaned, healthy and active, well that could prove to be a different story... My roommate is so excited and so am I. I've got a lot of work to do to get ready. Think positive thoughts for us! I really hope we can save these cats!

 

[Sadie'smama]

You are such a good person to do this

We currently have 2 stray cats that we're feeding and they are so cute. I don't know what to do this winter, because I just can't bring anymore animals in the house. I'm going to call alleycats (a local organization that will spay/neuter and give rabies shots free) and see about having them spayed/neutered and rabies shots, because I just don't have the money right now. My husband said if we can't find them homes he will make a cat door in his enclosed gazebo for them to get in this winter. Not the ideal situation, but better than being out in all the bad weather. At least they will be fed, sheltered and more warm than they would be otherwise. Prime example of why people need to spay/neuter they're pets. We usually have a couple of strays a year that come up and stay. I see lots more, but they don't come to the house. I've found homes for them in the past, but it's not always easy to find them homes.

 

[gibbrishclown]

I did get these kittens, unfortunately one died before they got them here. The good news is that they didn't all get gassed liked they were scheduled to. A shelter worker took them over night, and then they were brought to me yesterday afternoon. the home visit was more of a drop off, which is just fine by me! two of the kittens came in on a moving truck from another state and are about a week younger than the rest. They're small and sickly, and they're sneezing and wheezing a lot. I've been able to make the boney feeling in them fade with about half a can of kitten milk ( the powdered stuff) they've been going through it like mad. I have a 3cc sureinge (sp) and they suck it down really fast, each of them usually takes in 3 or more. I jsut keep making more until they quit eating, and then I give the rest to Mom. The little boys are getting lapped by "little Debbie" who has gained so much weight already. i don't weigh them, but I can't feel her backbone or ribs like I could before. I was pretty worried about her when I first saw her, but now I'm more worried about her brother and the runt of Mom's litter. Two of the Mom's biological kittens are already box trained and climb up onto the bedstand to get her kitten food (which is also powdered with KMR because she's still nursing and boney) I tried to keep the kibble from the babies thinking that it could upset their stomachs because it's so hard and they may not chew, but I figure if they can climb all the way up ther to get it, they can eat it too. There's also canned food mixed with nutrical and KMR available on the floor for everyone, but the little ones still just suck on the pieces of wet food, they're not lapping naything up yet.

Mama cat is so friendly I can't believe it. She came out of her crate purring and hasn't stopped except for when i was chekcing to see if she was still lactating, but she wasn't mean then either. I can rub her belly and pick her up and she's just as nice as could be. I was afraid that she'd be a big meany, but she's anything but!

One of the best parts is that they've asked me to socialize them with dogs!! Boy can I ever do that. I took one of the big healthy kittens downstairs to meet my dogs, who all sat perfectly as requested until I told Proof she could sniff her. She's always loved kittens and helped raise them by cleaning their back ends and fur. She used to carry my kitten around in her mouth until he hit about 8 pounds and started fighting her off lol. She gave babe a good "cleaning" and was gentle and respectful. the kitten was amazingly calm in the presence of four dogs. When I returned her (5 minutes later) her mother seemed unaffected by the smell of a dog on her kitten, and the kitten unaffected by the exposure to the dogs. YAY!

 

[J's crew]

That is great! Good for you, your doing a great thing!

How old are the kittens? One thing I do with kittens if they are a few weeks old and showing interest in solid food is mix some canned food with the kitten formula and heat it up a little. I let them investigate it and if they have never lapped anything up before I just barely tap their chin & mouth area in it and they will lick their chin and realize what it is. A few times of doing that and they soon start eating it.

Are they being treated for their sneezing?

 

[gibbrishclown]

They're getting amoxi drops 2x a day. but I want to get something to treat teh symptoms. When Myferret was sick, he was taking robitussin DM and it helped him, but I don't want to kill these kittens by trying somehting! They're 3.5-5 weeks old right now. The stowaway kitties aren't very old, they're still milky eyed and weebly on thier feet vs. the biological kittens who are likely 5 weeks old and doing very well... the tabbies should be ready to go home sooner than the rest. They have wet food out at all times with nutrical and kitten milk powder mixed it, and mom has kitten chow with kitten milk powder mixed in. Also there's a bowl of cat milk with kitten milk powder mixed into that out all the time for mom and older kittens to lap on, because I don't see them drinking a lot of water. I've been putting wet food on my finger when they suckle on my fingers to give them the taste of it. "Little Debbie" is the only one interested in trying new things with me so far. I can't wait for my friend to get over here and help me take pictures of them!! i tried earlier, and every picture of a kitten is cute, but I need pics to get them online and viewed by adoptors.

What can I use for the symptoms, anything? I've never had kittens before, I've helped with them, and I've raised puppies (with Mom) but never kittens. I'm not sure Mom is still interested in the stow-aways, but I stick them on when I catch her feeding the bigger kittens (her kittens) which is what I did with puppies...

I hope they're strong enough to go 9+ hours wihtout me Monday, so I'm really trying to fatten them up. I don't think my boss would be really happy iwht me if I brought a bunch of kittens to work with me. Do you think if I get Mom fattened up and healthy that she'll be more likely to feed the stowaway kitties better, or do I need to enlist someone to feed them during the day on Monday...

 

[gibbrishclown]

Yay Robitussin!! Moments after I gave them their miniscule dosage of medicine they started literally foaming at the mouth... gross, right, but it looked liek they were getting the crap out of their little chests...!!! YAY!!

 

[gibbrishclown]

Zinger and SuzieQ

Heath and Slim Jim

Little Debbie

Cheetos AKA Mom

 

[gibbrishclown]

All kittens except for SuzieQ

 

[silverpawz]

Aww. They are adorable and Mama looks like a sweetie. I used to foster kittens a while ago but had to stop. I always got the sick ones and I wasn't able to take the heartache of so many not making it. Tiny kittens are so fragile, even with the best care some don't stand a chance.

You're little guys look like strong ones. Do you have eye medicine for Little Debbie? Mine used to get that gook all the time but it'll clear up with some eye creme from the vet.

Just a quick tip, be sure to keep them warm. (not hot though) kittens that get cold get sicker.

Good luck and give them smooches for me. I miss having kittens romping around here. Maybe someday I'll get another batch if I'm brave enough. In the mean time, please keep posting kitten pics so I can live vicariously through you.

 

[gibbrishclown]

I don't have eye drops, but most of what's on her face is nutrical and dried food. I have been trying to get her wiped down with warm wet cloths, but it hasn't been as effective as I'd have liked. I'd subject her to a bath, but she wasn't very active until today and I was worried she'd get too cold afterwards. There's a self regulating heating pad in their kennel, and it turns itself off when it's too hot, so I just turn it back on before I leave after a visit.

I was concerned with Debbie and Slim Jim because they're younger than the rest, and were quite skinny. Debbie is a major lover though and always eats for me... I can barely feel her ribs anymore and she's started playing just today! I miss my little lapmate, but I'm so glad to see her excelling! Jim is a little punk who doesn't want anything to do with me because I shoot medicine down his throat and pick him up... the good news is that he and Heath (Mom's favorite) hang out all the time, so Mom is more willing to give him attention and food. I guess the only one who still needs me is Debbie... which is fine, because she is doing very well...

You know at 22 years old, beign a mother is still a scary consept, but I think there must be somehting chemical that happens to you when you're caring for babies... I just feel really good... once I'm out of bed that is... I'm not superhuman. It's just so energizing to see them improve... I'm glad I'm not experiencing that pendulem swinging the other way... That'd devastating at this point. I was really worried about Debbie and Slim at first... but not so much now. I'm at work now, and I miss them... that's weird to me.

 

[2BlackDogs]

They are the cutest! I didn't want to look at the pics cuz I know I'd want to take one. I am more of the cat person and my husband is the dog person. I love dogs too though!! But my family has always had cats. So I guess that's what I'm used to since I grew up with them. The hubby HATES cats and would probably kill me if I try to bring home another. He tolerates my cat mostly since I've had him for 10 years and he's been a big part of my life. I just remind him that cat's been here longer than he has.

 

[gibbrishclown]

So... uh... I'm getting more and more sure by the day that Cheetos (Mom) is currently expecting although she's not done nursing this litter yet... I REEEEEALLY hope I'm wrong, but if not...suggestions? thoughts?

 

[J's crew]

So... uh... I'm getting more and more sure by the day that Cheetos (Mom) is currently expecting although she's not done nursing this litter yet... I REEEEEALLY hope I'm wrong, but if not...suggestions? thoughts?

Oh no! I really hope not!

I would let the organization you got her from know asap and get her into the vet to make sure.

Would you be willing to foster her and any new kittys if she is?

 

[gibbrishclown]

I took her to a mobile vet, and she said she felt what I felt, but wasn't convinced she was pregnant, and scheduled the spay for two weeks from now... I still see that area growing though, and if it's obvious she's pregnant at spay time, she'll miss her appointment, I think. I want her to get to be a kitten, and to hurry up and find a home, but if she's full of little ones, maybe they deserve a chance too. I'd appreciate an xray before the spay, but she isn't my cat, and I can't govern what the rescue does... I don't know if I could foster another litter, this has been pretty expensive and time consuming, but if need be, I'd do it...