What to feed foster cats?

I've fostered pregnant cats and kittens a few times.  Each time I have trouble deciding what to feed them.  The foster organization provides Friskies canned adult food and Science Diet dry kitten food.  Online articles about kittens and pregnant cats always says to feed them premium kitten food, but that's not what the organization provides nor do I think they could afford it. 

I feed my own cat a commercially available frozen grain free raw food.  I have a new pregnant foster cat and I wonder whether to try to feed her  and the kittens that or to just go with the Friskies.  I have the money to feed them raw but I wonder if it would make for a tough transition when they go to their new homes.   I usually split the difference, mixing the Friskies canned food with the more premium food I give my cats, but that makes feeding time more complicated.  Also, the foster kitties seem to like Friskies more so they get more food in them, which maybe is better anyway?  

Any other other foster cat parents care to tell me what they do?

I do not foster but I would think you want to feed something that normal adopters would probably be feeding, like what the organization provides. The new adopters can then decide if they want to change to raw, etc. Bless you for helping these poor little souls!

Considering the fact that the foster kitties may be going back to the rescue group for vetting and adoption when the kittens are old enough, it might be best to just keep them on what the rescue group uses so that they don't have to deal with a change of food when they go there.  Both of those are decent foods even if they aren't the top of the line.  It's not like they are feeding one of the commercial foods with the first ingredient being "ground yellow corn" and if the canned Friskies is the "loaf" variety and not one with bits, shreds, flakes and gravy, then they are not feeding wheat gluten in the wet food either.  Most of us in rescue can't afford to feed super high quality food although we would like to if someone wanted to finance it for us.  At least with this regime, it is easy for adoptive families to find and continue.  We can urge them to read all the latest information on cat nutrition, but at least we know the cats and kittens are starting out on better than average food.  You would be surprised at how many people don't read cat food labels and just grab whatever is cheapest, mostly out of ignorance.  Recently I had a woman ask me how our rescue cats got such shiny lush coats because her cat had dry flaky skin and shed a lot.  I asked her what she fed her cat and of course it was the low-end cat food from a common and well known brand -- she said she got premium food for her dog but never even thought about cat foods being different and affecting the skin and coat.  She was intelligent, caring, and had plenty of money to spend on her pets.  She just never thought about cat foods before that.

I have been a vet tech for 10 years, and have worked at a Humane Society AND fostered plenty of mommas and kittens. The best thing to do for them is to feed a commercially available mid-grade food. Kittens are so sensitive that they can develop serious GI and kidney problems early on from inappropriate diet. High grade, high-protein foods are NOT good for young kittens as they tend to develop IBD, pancreatitis and diarrhea. Feeding pregnant Queens (female cats) and kittens RAW food is not good due to the increased likelihood of internal parasite acquisition, which can be costly and make possible adopters wary of adopting the kitten. The foods the rescue group provides is perfectly fine for kittens for this early stage of life and are more likely to be continued by adopters.

Alright, I guess I have my answer!  I'll continue to feed her the Friskies, supplemented with KMR.  I'm a little concerned that she may have a large litter and I hope I can get her in good shape for the demands of nursing. I don't know much about her past but the people who brought her in said when they found her she was emaciated. They fattened her up for a while before bringing her to the rescue.

You can always give the mama extra things while she's still pregnant, like a little coconut oil mixed into her wet food and good coat and skin supplements.  Lots of good suggestions in the Nutrition forums.  Personally, I've always added some chicken fat skimmed off the top of what I've cooked in the crock pot.