r/FosterAnimals

I’ve fostered informally for years finding cats outside and networked them out to rescues. I haven’t fostered in around a year since moving into my new place and decided to reach out to my local animal center to volunteer as a foster. They reached out letting me know they had 3, 3 week old kittens needing a place to stay. I told them I work M-F 3-10pm they told me that was okay as they were moving onto mush. I’ve never worked with kittens this young but was extremely willing to learn. My boyfriend and I took turns syringe feeding every 2/3 hours. I called out of work multiple days because I wanted to ensure they were being fed properly. I immediately fell in love with these kittens, especially this orange guy who I named Stuart. About a week after having them, I woke up to find bloody stool all over the play pen. That was our first vet trip. We were told he was dehydrated and hypothermic (he had multiple heating pads) but they don’t know what caused the bloody stool and he was stable now. That day forward, he refused to take to the syringe KMR, the bottle, and he only ate kitten puree in very small frequent amounts. 4 days later, we returned to the emergency vet because I was worried about his weight loss. They told us that he was fine, the shelters underweight protocol was to make sure he ate 2 times a day and to weigh him twice a week. I scheduled an appointment with the shelter 3 days before he passed away because at that point he weighed 230 grams while his siblings weighed around 600 grams. They sent us home with him that day and said his energy levels were fine although extremely underweight and they gave him vaccines, I told them he was too small for vaccines and they told me it was up to the vet. Friday morning, he wasn’t moving. We rushed back to the emergency vet and they told us he was hypoglycemic which I anticipated at that point. They told me he should have been hospitalized when we took him in 2 weeks ago and he needed to be incubated in his current state but the shelter wouldn’t pay for it. I chose to drive directly to shelter from that appointment to show them how severe it had gotten and that I didn’t have the resources to provide the care he needed. They took him in, I told them if they could stabilize him we would take him back and even adopt him. They called me 3 hours later saying they put him down. This happened 2 weeks ago, I’m still just as devastated and mad. I tried to do everything right…4 vet appointments in the 2 weeks before he died and this was still the outcome. Everyone meet Stuart.

These pictures were taken over the years I had him. The last photo is from when i first took him home. His name was Tito, and he was once a little kitty hanging around my grandparents house and we decided to take him home since all the other strays would bully him. He was my baby for almost 11 years. I never imagined Id end up graduating without him. He was my soul cat. There would be times where hed be a little sick every now and then, but it didnt get bad until his last couple months of life. He kept losing appetite no matter how many times we switched his food or how many expensive, healthier brands we bought. We couldnt give him scraps because they had started to make him sick. His nose went from its cute little pink color to a sick yellow. One of his fangs fell out because our family was unaware that animals needed dental care too since we came from a third world country where it wouldve sounded ridiculous if you told us pets needed to brush their teeth too. He started to pee in random places and sometimes meow in pain when he did. We didn't even have the money to check what was wrong with him with whatever machines you use to check that. One day we just took him to the vet to see what was wrong and i came back that same day with nothing but an empty blanket full of his fur. The vet said there was a possibility of some sort of kidney disease but that maybe he couldve had a chance with treatment, but we couldnt afford to do that for him.
They asked me if I wanted to be in the room while they put him to sleep and i said no because my dad told me it would suck for my last memory of him to be that bad. I listened because i didnt know if i could bear seeing him slowly die in my arms, but i wish i wouldve sucked it up for him. He didnt deserve to be left alone in his last moments, surrounded by strangers. I didnt even choose to keep his ashes or any of his belongings because my parents thought Id keep torturing myself if i had anything of his other than pictures. They were probably right, but I still wish i wouldve kept at least his blanket if not his ashes. He looked so scared when i handed him over to the doctor, my poor baby. I feel sick to my stomach about my decision now. I regret it every single day. I hate myself for not being able to afford anything more expensive than the euthanasia, and for listening to my parents when they told me it was best for me to get rid of his things. Every now and then i still find a hair of his on my old clothes that I havent worn in a while. I just want someone out there to know he existed, and that he was mine.

In all truth, he passed away well over a year ago, itll be two years this august. but i think about him often, more so around this time of year. My only comfort is knowing my sweet baby boy never has to feel pain or starve himself ever again. I know hes napping on the softest cloud in heaven, along with everyone elses soul pets that had to cross the rainbow bridge too.
Rest in peace Tito, you were so, so loved. 2014-2024🪽🤍

I have posted about my sweet little 4-5 week old Dottie before, but a 4th visit to the vet today has me really upset.

I rescued her from the street (injured, eye infection, alone) on June 21. I have never had a bottle baby before but I knew they were very delicate.

Visit 1: Took her to the vet within an hour of finding her, where they gave her subcutaneous fluids and antibiotics. They advised I feed her KMR.

Visit 2: She seemed to improve a bit but then I had to bring her back for constipation a few days later. They gave her an enema. They told me to start mixing in wet kitten food. They also had me get a stool sample - it tested negative for parasites.

Visit 3 (3 days ago): She started getting diarrhea and losing appetite. They said her stomach was harder and more bloated than it should be and said they would like to take a $500 x-ray to see what was going on. It didn't make sense to me, so I said I'd watch her for a couple days and return for the x-ray. At this point I was talking to other fosters I knew and they were confused about the x-ray too. They suspected she just needed wormer.

Call with the vet (yesterday): Dottie was losing more weight. Vet told me to get Rx Royal Canin GI wet and dry, so I did, but still was feeling confused about changing her food since everything I was reading said not to switch over and over. I let her have some of the food and she threw up all of it a couple hours later.

Dottie became more lethargic and dehydrated as diarrhea continued and appetite was still low. The only thing I could do the past 24 hours was give her tiki baby thrive and drop a tiny bit of KMR in her mouth.

Today, vet visit 4: A new vet I hadn't seen before immediately got her subcutaneous fluids, two womer meds, and dextrose. He also taught me how to do subcutaneous fluids at home for the next 5 days. And for food he said she needs to stop wet foods and go back to KMR only, then add KMR step 2/cereal. It struck me that this vet was the first who seemed truly to understand kittens this young, and he said he didn't know why the other vet at the practice had wanted an x-ray. He said it was so common to give wormer to street kittens he didn't know why they even took a fecal.

I finally feel like I'm in good hands with this new vet. But I am so upset that Dottie has gone through so much already and got to a point of losing many precious grams of weight (@ 385 grams now), and needing twice daily subcutaneous fluid. She has suffered a lot, and maybe I just want someone to blame but I am so so sad and mad about how long it took to get here. I'm also super sleep deprived after staying up nearly all night with her for a week...so maybe just need a place to vent. I feel like I need to complain to the vet's office but I don't even know what I expect them to do. What's done is done.

Can anyone relate? Am I totally out of line?

Hi everyone,
We've (25/F & 25/M from Germany) had this tiny girl since Monday. It's about a week old and is being bottle-fed because its mother (1 year old) rejected it. It was her first pregnancy and also only one kitten in the litter.
We've already taken it to two veterinarians and would visit again if it‘s necessary. Both said that its belly button/umbilical area looks unusual and advised us to keep an eye on it. We were at the emergency vet the day before yesterday, and they administered antibiotics via injection!
The kitten is drinking well, urinating, and passing stool normally. We had some issues with diarrhea at first, but that seems to have resolved now.
Does anyone know what this could be on its umbilical area? The area is dry, but a small amount of pus came out earlier today.
Has anyone seen something like this before? Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated.
(It looks wet on the picture because we previously cleaned it with NaCl)

Our foster gave birth to her kittens early yesterday morning! They are doing fabulous. Anyone good at newborn kitten sexing? We’re thinking boy, boy (tabby and whites), girl, girl (black and white and solid tabby.)

Latest trio. Still with umbilical cords. Wish me luck.

Hi all, I could use some experienced advice. I have a multi-cat household (3 adult residents) plus two kittens who are both currently isolated, and I’m trying to figure out the best path.

The two kittens:

**• Kolby** — a 4 months old deaf kitten I foster-failed/adopted. He has all 3 FVRCP shots. The problem: after a month of slow, proper introductions (scent swapping, barriers, supervised time), integration with my 3 adult cats is not working. He chases and pounces on them, they hide and are stressed. Because he can’t hear their warning hisses/growls, he doesn’t back off. Right now he’s confined to a room and only out \~10-15 min/day, which isn’t sustainable — he’s bored and destructive.

• New Siamese kitten — about 10 weeks old now. With me 1 week, currently caged in a separate room. Has had 1 FVRCP shot and been dewormed. At his previous foster he was caged separately, but in a room with other kittens (shelter-style). The previous foster had him for definitely more than 1 week but I don't know exactly how long.

My main question: Both kittens are now badly lacking cat and human interaction because they’re each isolated. Would it be reasonable to house Kolby and the new kitten together, hoping they become playmates — so Kolby can burn energy and learn to play appropriately with another cat, and neither is so isolated? Or is this a bad idea? I'm at my wits end and have been thinking to finding a new home for Kolby because that may be the best thing I can do for my 3 adult cats.

Sub-questions:

**1. Quarantine:** The new kitten was already “quarantined” at the last foster, but caged in a shared room with other kittens. He’s been with me caged in a room for a week. Do I need to keep quarantining him longer before introducing him to Kolby? He doesn't show any signs of sickness other than diarrhea first day and I brought him to vet for checking and treated with Ponazuril + Nemex.

**2. Kolby’s diarrhea:** His stool firmed up after 10 days of metronidazole + 5 days of Panacur, then went soft/diarrhea again about a week after treatment ended. Fecal exam was negative, but I don’t fully trust that (I had a previous foster litter with negative fecals that turned out to be coccidia on PCR). He’s bright, playful, eating, and gaining weight throughout — just soft stool. Any thoughts on next steps, and whether his GI status should stop me from introducing the two kittens?

Thanks in advance — trying to do right by all of them and a bit overwhelmed.

posted yesterday asking for advice on a kitten i found in the middle of the road, happy to announce he is doing very good! he pooped after some warm water belly rubs (had to give him another bath bc he peed on his blankie)AND used the litter box once on his own! i have an appointment with the vet on wednesday to get him examined for worms or FeLV (praying this isn't the case) my family has two FIV cats so even if he comes back FIV positive, i feel confident in taking care of him! he's playing, self grooming, and seeking out food on his own, rather than me having to tempt him with churus! he purred for the first time in my lap today. my only question now is, how do i encourage him to poop again for his lab test wednesday? should i do the water tummy compress again, or does anyone else have any tips or tricks i should try? my og plan was to replace his litter box with a pee pad tuesday night and get the sample that way, but if anyone has other suggestions please lmk!

he's otherwise a healthy little guy, good appetite, good poops (no sign of worms!) not straining or crying when peeing, and he's got a tummy full of soup!

Quick edit up here for maybe some quick help: someone mentioned below that cats can have Zofran. I might have some of this on hand from my kid. Google and AI and stuff have been insane lately with trying to get dosages, what type of dose would a 697 g 10 week kitten need if this is even a good idea to give her? I won’t even consider it unless I get several experienced people who know about dosing to chime in.

4th of July, Rural, so I’m not getting much traction with getting ahold of people.

I need some advice for my foster kitten, I’m moderately experienced, but it’s been a couple of years and I’m feeling slightly defeated. Here’s her info:

Cookie
Got her June 21, weighed 750g
Got to 765, rn after a big puke and a poop she’s only 697.
First shot June 29
Fenbenzadole June 21-28
Psyllium fiber and fortiflora added to her wet food.
About 10 weeks old.

She came with a super raw, moderately prolapsed bum, which would bleed after she pooped which was watery diarrhea.

After I completed what’s listed above, she was doing great, seemed almost a normal weight, her poop looked normal. And then I took her to get her first vaccine.

After the first shot she started getting disinterested in food. The next night, on the 30th we had shake and bake chicken legs. She had some of the inner non breaded meat, I thought it would be good and stimulate her appetite but it seems like it was bad now. She may have licked a slight amount of the shake and bake seasoning but I purposefully tried to not let her.

She seemed to stop eating completely by herself around Thursday. The first day, I coaxed her to eat a bit off my fingers. Since then I’ve been trying to syringe feed her but it’s only half successful. She pukes half the time and she’s losing weight.

I’ve been doing 25ish (little water mixed in) ml of either hills a/d (this seems to make her puke more often) or Purina wet kitten food. I did this 3 times yesterday with 1 puke and 2 times today so far with 1 puke.

Should I try less? What else can I do to help her? I asked my rescue, org that I am fostering her through if anyone has any anti-nausea medicine as that has worked in the past for this issue for me, but my post has yet to be approved so far, people are busy today.

A friendly mama brought us her kittens and we've got two of them who are about 10 weeks old now! We had potential adopters for them, but they no longer can.
Aside from word of mouth to families/friends, what methods have been successful to finding your fosters forever homes?

Included their photo just because they are the cutest ever

This might be kind of a long post.

I have been staying in garland, and about 6ish weeks ago I picked up 6 bottle babies (10-14 days old) from someone in the DFW area. I had no clue what I was doing. Second day i had them....my god! What is that smell?

Took them to a vet. Coccidia. And the vet informed me that 2 were very small/underweight and might not make it. Um. Nope. I held those 2 Littles in my hand and said "there will be no dying on my watch. There is no way I can deal with you 2 babies dying".

I read about bottle feeding and everything I could about littles. I ordered so many nipples and bottles off Amazon. Kitten formula. I got baby changing pads and blankets. I dont have a washer/dryer at the house. I was going to laundromat everyday because I was changing out bedding everything I saw poop. Got tiny litter boxes with non clumping litter. I ordered so much stuff. I bought fingerless gloves-Freddy Kruger mittens they all had! My cuticles were bleeding.

Those littles were so demanding!

I read about Coccidia and said-well, shit! This is going to kill us all! Fortunately, the house i am in has no carpet, no furniture because I am remodeling it. But I had to bathe the littles everyday for a week. I really think they loved it! Haha!

Everyday, those littles amazed me, and they LOVED me! And I loved them. I bought beds, scratching posts, toys and every kind of wet food.

I fed them wet food 3xs a day. The runt, hazel, would have so much food on her feet and belly from plowing through everyone's food! They ate hard food. They traveled with me back and forth to lubbock. When I left them there (with my family) I was transporting cat from garland and houston to colorado.

Of course my family fell in love with them. And I had picked up 2 void kittens in ft worth. So now I had 8.

It was time for them to fly. I had raised these babies. They were playful, sweet, loving, and oh so beautiful.

I had named them-

Maple, hazel, teddy, presley, baby maxx Jr, and Harry styles

The voids got named-

Tommy Lee

Nikki sixx

I was so in love with them all. Baby max jr was to be adopted by my friend in lubbock. u/historical_duck_8238 needed me to pick some kittens from Houston, so I went down and picked up 4 more kittens for transport to colorado.

On early Thursday morning(with kitten passports in hand) the 11 kittens and I set off for Loveland Colorado. We were headed to colorado kitty coalition.

And the tears flowed as we drove. It is a 12 hour trip(I didn't pee the whole way). I stayed for intake, I made their wet food. I had individual blankets made with their names on them.

They made weight. They are all getting fixed on monday. I told Arika, if nobody adopts them within the month, I will come get them.

I UGLY CRIED.

I didn't want to leave my babies!

But I know in my heart, they will be perfect kittens/cats for someone.

I raised them, spoiled them and loved them. All 12 slept with me and they purred with affection for me. I was their momma for a short time. I didn't keep any(I have 9 cats at home in lubbock).

It was time for them to fly.

I will always remember them and I took so many pictures.

I love will always love you my sweet 6!

And of course the hitchhikers i picked up along the way!💜

So hard but so rewarding! Thank you to all the people that rescue and foster. This was my first time, but I know it won't be my last.

First time foster!!! Our Stevie was abandoned in a wild fire in Texas. I have loved her. Saw her through an infection. Trained her. And now she has a meet & greet on Monday and I’m sure she’ll get adopted because she’s perfect. Why am I sad!? This is good news! How do I cope!?

I was driving on a back road today and there was a kitten darting in and out of the road, it was damn near paralyzed with fear and two trucks nearly ran it over before i could stop my car and get out and get it. i looked around for a good 15 minutes trying to find mama or siblings, didn't see any other kittens or a mama, and i couldn't just leave it to get run over. i have two other cats, but ive adopted both of them and they were both over 6 months old when i got them, so ive never taken care of a kitten like this before. its 4th of july weekend so the shelters near me are closed until monday, so what do i need to do until then? i have soft food that i've watered down to offer it, but is that okay for them? he's got his eyes fully open, and he's not starving because he's got a little belly. added a video and i'll drop pictures below. thank you so much for any advice