Purrfect Pals Foster Care Fact Sheet
Thank you for considering opening your home to these shelter kittens! This handout is intended to answer basic questions and give you an idea what to expect.
First, if you are fostering a mom and litter, you will certainly need to keep them in a room separate from resident cats. Mother cats are never friendly to others! Kittens without a mother should be kept in a separate room as well. Apparently healthy kittens can have been exposed to a virus or have an as-yet undiagnosed intestinal parasite. For these reasons, it is critical that you keep your foster kittens separate from your resident cats.
What do you feed your kitties? We will probably sent you home with some food to get you started. You are expected to purchase more food as needed. Both kittens and nursing moms need kitten food. Many foster parents also open canned food once or twice a day. It provides a welcome treat, and is easier for small kittens to eat.
Behavioral expectations
What to expect from week to week: Kittens open their eyes at about 10 days old. By 3 weeks, they are actively playing. Usually, they will start eating (and using the litter box) sometime between 4 and 5 weeks old. This is a good time to make sure a litter box is available with low sides, if you have been using a covered or extra large one. If one or more kittens are not eating by 5 weeks, don’t worry! An occasional holdout for mom’s milk is normal.
Role of a foster parent
What is your job? Providing a safe place, fresh water and ample food, keeping the litter box clean, and playing with mom and babies! The mom cat will take care of teaching her kittens to use the litter box. Even if she’s a very young cat herself, she knows what to do. Handle the kittens from the beginning. Even day old kittens can be gently picked up and stroked. The more time you spend cuddling and playing with them, the more comfortable they will be with people.
Can friends adopt my kittens? Can I adopt a kitten?
Yes, your friends can adopt your kittens. All adoptions must follow our standard adoption procedures, which includes returning the kittens to Purrfect Pals for spaying or neutering, first vaccinations, leukemia and FIV exams, worming and microchipping, and a full adoption consultation with a Purrfect Pals adoption counselor. We discourage foster parents from adopting a cat or kitten from their first litter only because it is too hard to say goodbye. Yes, this is the hardest part of fostering, but think how many more cats and kittens you can save if you continue to have space in your home. When you are ready to adopt a cat or kitten, however, of course choosing one of your fosters is appropriate; just follow Purrfect Pals procedures.
What if my cat gets sick?
If your cat get seriously ill after hours, we ask that you take your cat immediately to an emergency veterinary clinic. We will provide you the names of several clinics with which Purrfect Pals has an agreement to take our cats. You will not be charged for this service. Please contact Purrfect Pals immediately when you seek medical care for your cat. If illness is less serious, or happens at a more convenient time, please contact Purrfect Pals immediately. We may ask you to bring the cat into our clinic or we may provide an alternate vet clinic for you to visit.
Typical timetable
If you took home a cat that was extremely pregnant or had very young kittens, she will not have received vaccinations or been wormed. She can receive her first vaccination when the kittens are about two weeks old. She will then need the second one three to four weeks later. Ideally, kittens receive a first vaccination at six weeks, then the second when they come back to the shelter to be spayed/neutered at about nine weeks. Sometimes, if they are not being exposed to other cats, we skip the six week vaccination. You will be provided with a timetable for vaccinations on your foster parent agreement form; you will be expected to bring the cats in on or near the dates indicated. All kittens will need an additional booster at twelve weeks, which they will probably get in their new home.
We will try to contact you when the time comes for your foster kittens to be spayed/neutered. However, we may have several dozen litters in foster homes, so we appreciate it if you stay aware of the kittens’ ages and dates when they need to come back. If we have not called you already, please call up to schedule their return. We may have to delay their return briefly based on our veterinarians schedule and available cage space at the shelter.
