Foster Kitten Care
This information is to provide support to Delta Community Animal Shelter Volunteer Foster Homes - Caring For Your Foster Kitten
Your foster kitten is just like a newborn baby. She/he needs you to protect and provide. Placement into a foster home allows the kittens to socialize, grow and stay healthy. Some important notes for fostering your kitten are outlined below. These notes are not recommendations, they are absolutely necessary when fostering kittens.
Den and Living Space
Kittens should be encouraged to play and extend themselves but they must be contained in a safe small room. Do not give small kittens the run of your home or apartment. Allow them their own small, kitten-proofed room that is warm and secure. A spare bathroom is an ideal size but you should ensure the toilet lid is left down and the floor isn't too cold. If the floor is cold newspaper or towels are good insulators. Provide a den (the carrier or nesting box) as a safe haven and sleeping place.
Your kittens should be able to manage their own body temperature. However, supplementary warmth can be appreciated by kittens. A warm water bottle wrapped in a towel is the only suitable direct supplementary heat. The bottle should be propped up against the wall so the kitten can crawl onto it or get away from it depending on how they are feeling. It is very important that a water bottle containing cold water is not left with a kitten as it can draw heat OUT of the kitten and cause a serious problem.
NOTE: Under no circumstances should your kitten be allowed to go outside. We recommend if cats are going to be allowed to go outside they be at least 6 months of age.
Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack and repeat!
Kittens should be started with a slightly warmed wet kitten food offered on a saucer or small plate. Be sure not to overheat in the microwave -- only a few seconds is all it needs, and be sure to mix it thoroughly with your finger so that you get all the hot spots mixed in. You may have to put a bit of food on the kitten's nose or in its mouth to get it going, using your finger or a small spoon. Some kittens will quickly dive into kitten dry food and so you should have it available at all times. However, you cannot count on that being enough. Wet food should be offered at least 3 times a day. Kittens should be offered about 1 can per meal so 3 cans (5.5oz) a day.
Watch the weight . . .
You should be encouraging your kitten to eat often. They have to eat often as their tummies are small so they will sometimes only ingest small amounts. It is most important to weigh your kitten at the same time every day and consistently either before a meal or after so that you know s/he is getting enough food. They should gain weight every day and a good goal to shoot for is 10grams daily. If your kitten is not gaining weight you need to contact the shelter immediately. Your kitten's "start weight" should be provided to you and we suggest you keep a journal of his/her daily weights.
The Water Dish
By four or five weeks, kittens should be taking water on their own as well as food. Provide a low, heavy dish. Kittens often walk in their water (and food) and this is ok but you should always try to keep the kitten dry. Keep the food and water dish away from the litter pan so that it stays clean.
Litterpan
Kittens are like any other toddler; they play too hard and too long and then desperately need to relieve themselves, so be sure a litterpan (or litterpans, in a larger room) is handy at all times. Start with a pan small and low enough for a kitten to get into (and out again) with no trouble; a good starter pan is a cake pan. Very little training is necessary as kittens naturally know how to utilize a box. If your kitten is a slow starter you can put the kitten into the litterpan 15 minutes or so after a meal, perhaps stimulating it by guiding its paws into a digging motion. If the kitten hops right out, put it right back in again, at least for a time or two. If there is an accident, put the feces in the litterpan to help redirect the kitten. We recommend a pellet-style litter until the kitten is at least eight weeks old but as long as the kitten is not eating its litter you could try clumping. When the kitten is five or six weeks old, it is ready for a full-size litterpan; simply provide a brick as a stepping stone if necessary (we wrap the brick in an old towel).
Time to panic!
Should anything seem out of the ordinary with the kitten, please call us (604) 940-7111. Kittens are fragile, just as babies, and time can often be of the essence. Below is a list of things that could be warning signs.
- Excessive crying
- Weight loss
- Breathing that looks difficult
- Not being able to lift his/her own head
- Cold to the touch
- Unusually wobbly (acting "drunk")
- Vomiting or diarrhea
