First time foster, five 3-week-old bottle babies, please tell me it gets easier soon
13 days ago we discovered five kittens about 10 days old in the ceiling/roof dead space of a vacant house. Due to the location and condition of the ceiling, the kittens were not going to be safe once they became mobile. We tried catching mama, finally succeeded but she was too feral and we couldn’t safely reintroduce her to the kittens so we got her spayed and released her. After calling every rescue in the area and being told they didn’t have anyone willing to foster five bottle babies and that they would likely die or be euthanized in the shelter, they became my fosters. They’ve been in my care, bottle fed around the clock for almost two weeks now. I registered with our county animal services foster program for assistance with supplies, medical care, and adoption coordination.
The learning curve has been very steep, but thanks to a couple of friends who are experienced in fostering bottle babies I’ve been able to keep them alive and growing. I’ve watched hours of Kitten Lady videos and done SO much research. Things were a bit touch and go with the runt at first, I was really afraid I might lose her, but she’s now doing much better and has doubled in weight (270 grams today). They all seem to be thriving, taking the bottle well (for the most part), and can go from 12am-5am at night. I know things can still happen and I might lose a kitten or two, and it would absolutely break my heart.
I am f***ing exhausted and burned out. I love these babies, they’re insanely cute, but my God I’m tired of feeding and pottying them six times a day. I know before long they’ll only eat five times a day, then four, but we’re also approaching litter box training (poop everywhere) and weaning (food everywhere, GI upset, possible illness) in the coming weeks and all I can envision is the mess involved and having to bathe these kittens all the time in addition to everything else, not to mention if illness/FKS takes hold during the stress of weaning.
My husband is very supportive and helps where he can, but runs a small business and this is by far the busiest time of year. I don’t work much and am home a lot so it only makes sense that I’m the primary caregiver. I know that I’ll likely have these kittens in my care for 2 total months (at least) before they’re adoption-ready, and I’d really like to see them through to that stage. Even though I’m tired and irritable and emotional, the thought of giving them to another foster breaks my heart. I want to see them continue to grow and become more playful, but this job is relentless.
I’m still hanging in there, but my God this is a lot. When does it get easier? Does it ever get easier? Am I insane for taking on this huge responsibility in the first place? Words of wisdom/encouragement would be appreciated.