I have spent the last half hour in my closet...bawling.

I just sat there with Mia and her litter. The first kittens I have ever had. SO grateful that she chose me to be part of her family when it came time to bring them into the world.

SO SAD for her and the terrible owner she had previously, who let her get pregnant, in her first heat, SOOO YOUNG! Then once she had those three babies, put her out to get pregnant in her second heat!! It INFURIATES me! She is so sweet and quiet.

I worry that I will be unable to find good loving homes for these babies and her. THEN I worry that I WILL find homes and dread the day I have to say good bye. Here I go crying again.

They are only a few days old and my heart is already captured by their sweet little spirits.

The most endearing part of my time in the closet just now. The little tiger boy who, only 4 days old, hissed and hissed his heart out at me when I picked him up! Have you ever heard a newborn hissed? I hadn't. I thought he was sneezing for half a second.

What is a foster "mom" to do!! I didn't know this would affect me so much. Does it get any easier?

It will get better. Even seasoned breeders will shed a few tears when the babies go to new homes. And we keep ours for 4 months!

I would start lining up homes now (at least get one or two more then the number of kittens you have) so that they are kinda spoken for. If you really want to keep one, decide now - not later. And be sure to schedule mom for her spay when they are around 8 weeks old and slacking off on nursing.

You want to keep everyone together for a minimum of 10-12 weeks so thye learn important social behaviors and are ready for their new homes

And yes, its funny as heck when a newborn or few week old kitten "hisses" at you - they may scare a grasshopper but that's about it

I have had newborns hiss at me. The first time it happened, I was like you and had to do a double take. So hilarious. But it just reinforces the fact that we need to handle them daily. I think you are doing a great job. It's easy to get emotional. And as a foster parent, I sometimes grow attachments to certain kittens in the litter. Some are just more cuddly than others. But I have to tell you - for me - the older they get, the easier it is to let them go

I say this because, imagine, my current foster had 6 kittens. They are nice and cute and all, but eventually, as they grow, and the mom starts to clean them less, and you start to wean them, and they start using the kitty litter box... oh yeah. That's constant pooper-scoopin. Plus sometimes having to clean the bums of kittens that the mom isnt cleaning anymore. We keep our kittens until 12 weeks. They start using the kitty litter around their 6th week pretty consistently (most of the time sooner).

On the other hand, the bigger they get, the cuter their antics. So their cuteness far outweighs their stinkiness and makes the fostering experience well worth it really! I have to remind myself sometimes not to get too attached and that the next litter will be coming along soon enough. You have to make room for the next family. Sad as it is, it's a reality. And the mothers and kittens are so much better off in a loving home then stuck in a cage for months on end or worse, out in the streets.

I guess it takes a special person to be a foster parent. You're doing a wonderful job! Take lots of pictures, and handle them to your hearts content! They grow so fast!

Just concentrate on the wonderful kittens you are molding to make some lucky family very happy. Focus less on the fact that they will eventually leave, and enjoy the time they are with you and the memories you'll make!

Awwwww!!!! There, there, it will be just fine.

Just think about the fact that you are giving this girl a second chance at life. And I agree about her previous owner. I read that in your other post and it makes me sooooooo .

Like it's the cat's fault she got preggers. Like she did it intentionally to HIM!

I know, I hear it all of the time.

EDIT: I haven't had the pleasure of a newborn hissing at me, but I did have one approx. 10 day old kitten GROWL at me... awwww... sooo .... cute!!!

ya'll are so wonderful. Thank you SO much for your words of encouragment. I promise I will take this time and enjoy these babies!

Any advice for when they get a bit more mobile and need to be let out of the closet??

lol

When I was raising rexes, I never let them free run in the house unless I was supervising them. They were confined to one room (I also had a very large cage they stayed in for the first few weeks).

Any more then 4 kittens and they will go in fifty directions, so you really have to supervise them and teach them house rules like "don't climb the curtains", "scratch the treehouse, not the couch", etc. By the time they left my house at 4 months old, they were pretty well trained to the delight of the owners who didn't have to be getting them off curtains

Also you can get them used to having their nails cut at an early age (like 3-4 weeks old) so the owners have less trouble.

Imagine having 6 rex kittens who figure out how to get on the counter when you are doing dishes just to play in the water! My 3 red boys were horrible with this. As soon as the water was running, they would come running and jump in the water to play! I had to lock them up just to do the dishes.