2 week old fosters

Hi, I have always had cats but this is the first time I took a pregnant cat from my local shelter to help. Things went great and she has 4 beautiful babies. I have had them in a bathroom with her pan, food and water. I visit her several times a day and she has become quite attached to me. She has tapeworms and I was told my own 2 cats cannot catch these. they have asked me to keep the family until the babies are 8 weeks away from the noise of the shelter. Can I keep them in the bathroom all this time? They are thriving and I do not want a fight between mama and my own 2 but want to do what is right. Help

Hello,

Welcome to The Cat Site. What a job you have been willing to take on. Thank you. I think the cat and her kittens need the privacy you have given them of being isolated in the bathroom. We have some wonderful advisors and someone will be along to help you soon. Good luck with the kittens.

This is something that might help you until you get some other answers.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/pregnant-cat-what-to-prepare-for-the-birth

You need to ask the shelter you are fostering for to give you meds for tapeworms. They are not contagious to your cats because they come from ingesting a flea. Does she have fleas? If so, ask for flea meds too for mom.

The bathroom is fine for now, but when the kittens are 3-4 weeks old they will need a bigger space to explore and to play. I usually suggest a kitten-proofed bedroom. It gives more room and you can close the door. You will need to keep your resident cats separated however, for the safety of the kittens.

Thank you for helping out! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I have a foster kitty and her 4 healthy kittens. Delivery went great and she is such a good mom. Yesterday I bought kitten formula to mix with kitten food to teach them to eat but when and how? I also have a question about where they are. I fixed her up in a spare bathroom that they have to themselves and wonder if there is a time I should move them to a bigger room with more noise and room to play. Will she be upset by the move or do I keep her in the bathroom with everything they need. I do have 3 cats of my own and I am keeping them away. The shelter has asked me to keep them until they are 8 weeks.

How old are the kittens? Kittens wean anytime after 4 weeks, when they get their baby teeth. However, many are not interested until 5-6 weeks, and some even 7-8. So around 5 weeks old I suggest you try them on mush. When they begin eating solids, they will need to litter train also.

The bathroom is fine for now, but at some point they will need room to explore and play outside the bathroom. I generally suggest a bedroom or den that can be kitten-proofed and closed off. Whole house exploring is too much while they are little. No need to ever introduce them to your cats since you sre fostering. Thank you for helping them! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I feel like a first time mom. I feed mama cat dry kitten food and canned kitten food. Yesterday I bought kitten formula for the future. When you say "mush' what do I mix? formula and dry that is softened or canned, both mixed with formula. Also, the shelter sent a small litter pan home with me for the kittens. When do I introduce that and do I put  them in the pan? Thanks

Mush is wet food mixed with formula to make a gruel of oatmeal-like consistency that they can lap up. Kittens also like dry kitten chow moistened with formula. They may also drink from a dish of formula. When I was weaning, I offered small amounts of all of the above to see who liked and ate what. Again, it's a process that can take awhile.

Yes, you'll put the kittens in the litter box before and after meals, and throughout the day until they have it down. It's another reason to contain them to one room while they are learning. I also put doggie pee pads around the pan for accidents. It helps to put them in and take a little paw and show them how to "dig". You introduce the pans when they begin to wean or eliminate on their own without mom stimulating them.

How old are they now?

They will be 4 weeks this week

Ah, okay. They are getting close to weaning age. It's good you are planning ahead! [emoji]128077[/emoji]

Be sure to use non-clumping litter.  the kittens taste everything.

I wish I knew how to transfer pictures from facebook or from my phone. A large trash bag was discovered with 17 small kittens mixed in with the garbage. My shelter is getting the kittens without mothers. I am in a Chicago suburb  and most of the animals are brought from Kentucky, maybe they have high kill shelters. It is so hard to understand the hearts of some people that they can treat animals like that, to throw them away.

lambyq said:

 
I wish I knew how to transfer pictures from facebook or from my phone. A large trash bag was discovered with 17 small kittens mixed in with the garbage. My shelter is getting the kittens without mothers. I am in a Chicago suburb  and most of the animals are brought from Kentucky, maybe they have high kill shelters. It is so hard to understand the hearts of some people that they can treat animals like that, to throw them away.

Click to expand...

We dont want to see THIS picture...  were they dead or still alive?  or rather, was it perhaps some high kill shelter which disposed pts kittens in a somewhat unsesitive way, or if it was an evil willain whom thus murdered off 17 alive kittens??

lambyq said:

 
I wish I knew how to transfer pictures from facebook or from my phone. A large trash bag was discovered with 17 small kittens mixed in with the garbage. My shelter is getting the kittens without mothers. I am in a Chicago suburb  and most of the animals are brought from Kentucky, maybe they have high kill shelters. It is so hard to understand the hearts of some people that they can treat animals like that, to throw them away.

Click to expand...

TW:

I live in kentucky, and I'd say 70% of pet owners don't fix their pets. It's sad. Almost all of the shelters where I live fill up so much that they wave adoption fees and just do interviews so people are more likely to adopt.

All of the shelters in my county are no-kill, and in the surrounding counties most are no kill, but we do have a lot of kill shelters, same as other states.

A big reason we have so many animals over here is due to a current issue of dog fighting.

People will pick up multiple pregnant cats from the streets, and after the kittens are born and able to walk they will mark them with sharpies and place bets on which kitten gets killed last. Often times they end up just dumping them instead. Which is better than murder, but it's heart wrenching and doesn't only happen around here, it's becoming a nationwide issue.

So on top of many people not fixing their animals, and the insane amounts of breeding done in violence, people around here (and I assume many other places) will just dump cats on the streets.

I found two of my cats in a box on the curb of a main road. They could have been run over at any time. Luckily everyone tried to avoid the box in the street.

Where I live in KY, many people have compassion for animals and love them very much, but as the poorest state in the country, people take them in and can't care for them, fix them, etc, and just dump their kittens/puppies in shelters. Most people don't think to call a rescue.

There is also a massive heroin problem in my state. One of the worst in the country also, so people with pets will dump them for drugs or breed them for drug money, are unable to find people willing to pay for an unvaccinated/worm infested kitten or puppy and just dump them also.

But the further south you go in my state, the more people that do this. It's primarily from the uneducated areas, where people often didn't even finish the 8th grade. Plus many people in my state still believe that animals are lesser. Though I'd say an equal amount adore animals, but can't always help them.

On the bright side, there are still many many people who love and adore animals and put them first, but it's so hard to control the problem with the sheer amount of animals on the streets.

The area I live, there are not many strays as I live in a lower middle class to middle class city (depending on which side) but there is a lack of violence, and an abundance of compassion. But if I drive 15 minutes to an area with a high amount of gang violence, drug use and poverty, there are strays everywhere. I used to live there and I fed strays every day. At least 5 a day.

The rescue I stay in contact with, paws and claws, has picked up puppies and kittens from the streets, drug houses, etc, and found them homes. I see cats there that have been in the rescue for years, foster house to foster house.

Sorry for ranting but I just wanted to share!

Thank you both so much for helping. I'm sure it feels like an insurmountable problem, but you're making an unbelievable difference for the cats you bring in.

I keep saying we need more laws to protect domestic pets in the USA. In some European countries spaying and neutering is required by law. Needless to say, the stray population is quite low in those areas. It certainly sounds like Kentucky needs to do something.

I am happy to say that they are all cleaned up, alive and looking so precious. An arrest has been made which makes my day.

Charged with animal cruelty?

My 4 foster kittens are almost 6 weeks old and have learned to eat kitten food mixed with formula.  l

 let their mom, also a foster finish the food after each feeding. My question is how often should I offer this mixture and will mom keep nursing.

Offer it 4 - 6 times a day really like it, otherwise start with 4 feeds and build up.  Are you also feeding dry kitten food?  Kittens are growing rapidly and need lots of small meals.

Yes I have fed the mom kitten food since I picked her up from the shelter pregnant. How long do you feel I should keep them for the shelter. I am  loving them and trying not to as I have cats of my own. 2-3 months? Also, How long should I continue  to add kitten formula to the kitten food? Sorry, They gave me no instructions