Is this normal? (given a flea infested 2 week old kitten without being told)
I recently brought in a 2 week old kitten to gain bottle baby foster experience. Originally I was supposed to get a smaller one but he had medical issues that forced him to stay at the foster place a little longer, so they offered for me to take my second choice (I was already at the foster center when this happened). I ended up taking her home and all was going good until i noticed flea dirt and little black dots running around her face a day or two later, and I come to realize that she had a massive flea infestation!!
I was not informed that she had fleas, and no-where on the website did it say she had fleas, and the worst part was that the foster center employees KNEW she had fleas and yet didn't say anything to me when she was handed over to me!! I would've never taken her had I known she had fleas (I have other animals in the house, one of which not on flea protection just yet since I got him like a couple months ago + no dedicated foster room to contain the fleas since I'm relatively new to the foster world). The foster center had this kitten for at least a week before I picked her up, and when I brought her back (the flea infestation was so bad that the bath I gave her only got rid of maybe 50% of the fleas) they said, and I quote: "yea we try to give them baths when we notice the fleas" like HUH????
I have to know if this is normal behavior for a foster care center!! I've worked with them for a while volunteer-wise and always figured they were a reputable shelter (albeit the employees are sometimes a bit clueless, especially in the small mammal department) but I cannot imagine that they would not tell the fosters about something as life-threatening as a MASSIVE flea infestation on a little 2 week old kitten (this was genuinely not the normal amount of fleas you could expect for a stray kitten) and expect you to realize this yourself. Like, what if I noticed it too late and the kitten passes!! I gave her a bath myself and the amount of blood that kept dripping from her into the sink from the fleas was awful!!
Please lemme know if this is normal and what I should do in the future any feedback is appreciated