Fostering kittens & worried about disease

gymsock · Oct 7, 2006

Want to foster kittens but have some worries, hope you experienced cat lovers can help me out.

1. I went to the local animal welfare group and asked about fostering and they started talking about roundworms and other diseases. They suggested keeping the kittens in a non-carpeted area that could be easily cleaned. Sounds reasonable. I plan on keeping them in the bathroom. BUT, if the kittens have roundworms or something else that infects carped areas, won't I just infect everything by going in the bathroom and then walking out of there into carpeted areas or sitting on upholstered furniture or even my bed??? I've been told that if the kittens end up having roundworms or some other diseases that I wouldn't be able to foster again for 2 years and I wouldn't be very happy about that!

2. If the kittens have fleas, i've read in other posts to just use a flea comb on them once a week or so. BUT, if they're sitting on my lap while I'm combing them aren't the fleas probably just jumping on me and then I will carry them to other parts of my house.

Am I losing it!!!
They make it sound like I need an almost sterile environment to protect from disease and infecting your house with something. By the way, I've had 2 cats for 16 years who recently died

that I picked from a litter of 5 feral cats that I took in 16 years ago. I never worried about those things then and my cats were all healthy and happy and got good homes, but now the animal care league has me almost paranoid about disease and stuff.

Are kittens with roundworms and diseases that infect your house the norm or the exception???

Will I easily infect my whole house by walking in and out of the bathroom where the kittens will be kept???

Any advice from anyone with experience in these matters would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

tnr1 · Oct 7, 2006

Originally Posted by gymsock

Want to foster kittens but have some worries, hope you experienced cat lovers can help me out.

1. I went to the local animal welfare group and asked about fostering and they started talking about roundworms and other diseases. They suggested keeping the kittens in a non-carpeted area that could be easily cleaned. Sounds reasonable. I plan on keeping them in the bathroom. BUT, if the kittens have roundworms or something else that infects carped areas, won't I just infect everything by going in the bathroom and then walking out of there into carpeted areas or sitting on upholstered furniture or even my bed??? I've been told that if the kittens end up having roundworms or some other diseases that I wouldn't be able to foster again for 2 years and I wouldn't be very happy about that!

2. If the kittens have fleas, i've read in other posts to just use a flea comb on them once a week or so. BUT, if they're sitting on my lap while I'm combing them aren't the fleas probably just jumping on me and then I will carry them to other parts of my house.

Am I losing it!!!
They make it sound like I need an almost sterile environment to protect from disease and infecting your house with something. By the way, I've had 2 cats for 16 years who recently died

that I picked from a litter of 5 feral cats that I took in 16 years ago. I never worried about those things then and my cats were all healthy and happy and got good homes, but now the animal care league has me almost paranoid about disease and stuff.

Are kittens with roundworms and diseases that infect your house the norm or the exception???

Will I easily infect my whole house by walking in and out of the bathroom where the kittens will be kept???

Any advice from anyone with experience in these matters would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome to TCS!!! I've fostered both cats and kittens for the rescue group that I belong to....I do agree that you want to pick a room with a surface that is easy to clean and the bathroom is a good choice. What you may even want to do on top of that is put the kittens in a dog crate for when you aren't home. That way...you decrease the chances of diseases being spread. Make sure that when the kittens leave, you thoroughly clean your bathroom with bleach. Another thing....I had a seperate set of clothes for when I spent time with my fosters until they received a clean bill of health from the vet. I kept these clothes in the bathroom and would switch out of them before visiting my own cats. I also washed my hands thoroughly before and after spending time with the kittens. Fostering is such a rewarding experience!!

Katie

jkrodger · Oct 9, 2006

Also making sure your other pets are all UTD on shots and wormers (if you're really worried about the worms) and get them all flea collars. There's also treatments you can put on the carpeting outside the bathroom to make sure the fleas don't spread to the rest of your house. I changed shoes/socks whenever I went into/out of the room.

ldg · Oct 10, 2006

Please, please, please do NOT use flea collars! There are problems with flea collars, and some cats have a reaction to them that causes their death. To protect your home from potential fleas, visit your vet to purchase Advantage. Easy to apply, long lasting, and NOT lethal.

You can take those flea collars, cut them up, and put them in your vacuum cleaner bag. Then when you vacuum you will kill any fleas that may have made it out of the bathroom, and you will not harm any kitties.

I wouldn't put any existing kitties on deworming medication. You may want to take fecal samples of your existing kitties to the vet after the fosters have been there for a month just to make sure - but deworming medication is poison, and it should not be used if it isn't necessary. I don't know if the rescue org is providing the meds, but deworming meds that you can buy in a store do NOT work. They must be provided by a vet.

Finally, the change of clothes is the best way to ensure nothing leaves the bathroom. You can also keep a pair of flip flops inside the bathroom next to the door. Just take whatever footware you have on off, and when you enter the bathroom, put on the flip flops. :;

Fostering is so important in cat rescue! It takes observing a little extra on the hygiene front to ensure that you don't spread any parasites or disease to your own cats - but after a clean bill of health from the vet (including fecal samples from the fosters), it is SUCH a rewarding "job"!!!!!

Laurie

ldg · Oct 10, 2006

BTW - the lifecycle of the round worm is three weeks. The meds kill the adults, so whatever meds the vet gives you to treat round worms or tape worms (if they even have them), you will have to give them another dose after three weeks.

And if they have fleas, a gentle bath with a little Dawn dish soap (put cotton balls in their ears) should go a long way to solving the problem. Then use the flea comb every day - not once a week - until you see no more fleas for a couple of days. Which after the dawn dish soap bath could be just one or two deas. Then use it once a week for a couple of weeks to ensure there were no eggs lying around that kitties picked up at some point.

Laurie

jkrodger · Oct 10, 2006

Originally Posted by LDG

Please, please, please do NOT use flea collars! There are problems with flea collars, and some cats have a reaction to them that causes their death. To protect your home from potential fleas, visit your vet to purchase Advantage. Easy to apply, long lasting, and NOT lethal.

Wow, sorry, I had no idea! I have other friends that have indoor/outdoor cats and they use flea collars without a problem (luckily, our cats have had no problem with fleas or mites or really any bugs) but I'd take her advice just to be safe!

ipw533 · Oct 10, 2006

Collars are OK for older cats who only occasionally go outside; otherwise I'd recommend Frontline Plus or Revolution (the latter requires a prescription in the U.S.). Kittens may require gentle bathings and combing out--it's very important that if you bathe them you not allow them to become hypothermic!!!

Otherwise the best flea control is environmental control--do not allow conditions which allow fleas to breed. This means regular cleaning and the application of sprays which can be bought at an exterminator supply store. Be sure to ask about Precor...!

Fostering kittens & worried about disease

gymsock

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tnr1

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jkrodger

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ldg

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ldg

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ipw533

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