My first foster kitty arrives tomorrow - stocked and anxious

As I discussed with @Ondine, I was asked by a local association to be a foster mom, and I said yes. That was two days ago, and they just called to ask me to foster a 3 month old female tortie!!!

Poor baby was thrown over a fence in a private yard, and the house's owners called the association (I'm going to refer to them as shelter from now on, it's easier). For now they are letting her outside in the yard in the day, and letting her in at night. She has food, water and shelter, and was just treated for fleas and worms. She doesn't have a name and I don't have pictures (yet).

The shelter is bringing her here tomorrow morning. I'm so over the moon, it's ridiculous

But now I have questions, of course.

- I live in a studio, the only room with a door is a bathroom. It's small, but I can put down a thick and soft bedding, food, water and litter in there. Should I isolate her at first given the size of the apartment?

- What do I need for this little one?

*I have wet food only (without grain and with grain, but for adult cats), and no kibbles. I can go buy some, but the choices are going to be limited (it's 6PM already here). What's the less worse brand?

*Do I need to get some KMR? Obviously she's weaned and eating solids, but I was thinking getting her something packed with goodness couldn't hurt. If not KMR, what else?

- She's 3 months old, what should be her weight? I have a scale, and will weight her as often as necessary. I know a good rule is to feed her whenever she wants.

- I already have a resident cat, Sparrow, 4 yo neutered male. Do I need to treat him for fleas and worms? I'm thinking yes, but having opinions would help.

- Is there anything else I should know, do, get for this to go as smooth as possible?

I would definitely start her out in the bathroom. She could be a very outgoing kitty and get along with your resident cat right away, but if she's at all scared, she will feel much safer in the smaller room. Plus, if she ends up having diarrhea or something else, which happens, it's much easier to clean up if it's contained to a bathroom.

If Sparrow is handling it well, then you can start letting her out into the rest of the apartment when she starts to seem more curious about the world beyond the door than scared. 

Grain free is usually a better option, but some companies are tricky and put things in like potato, which isn't a grain, but is even worse! Read the ingredients, and whatever seems to have the most animal protein will give her the most nutrition. All wet food is just fine.

You don't really need KMR, but you can get kitten food next time you go shopping, which tends to have some more calories and nutrients packed in than adult food. I always like to have a few jars of human baby food on hand, in turkey, chicken, or ham without any other added ingredients besides water and maybe some cornstarch. It's a very plain food and cats love it. It's not a balanced diet by itself, but it's great for hiding medicine or giving as a treat or a nice bland option for an upset stomach, or as a topper if the cat is unsure about the food at first.

There's a really baseline rule of thumb that a kitten's weight is about equal in pounds to its age in months, so a 3 month old would be about 3 lbs, but that can vary wildly, so don't be worried at all if her weight doesn't match. If a kitten that age is severely underweight, you'll be able to tell if you handle it and feel nothing but skin and bones. Hopefully the shelter's had her looked over by a vet or will be taking her to one soon, and they can tell you for sure if she's on track. But really all you can do either way is feed her as much as she wants to eat.

If Sparrow is a completely indoor cat, he's gotten a clean bill of health from the vet recently, and he doesn't show symptoms of having fleas or worms, then he shouldn't need to be treated for them. Since the kitten has been outside, there's a much better chance of her giving something to Sparrow. So keep them separate until you know for sure she's definitely not having any symptoms like diarrhea for a few days. 

Something that rescued kittens often get are intestinal parasites, the microscopic kind that aren't treated by standard deworming. The main symptom is usually just diarrhea and it's not often serious, but it can be a major nuisance and sometimes a bit tricky to cure, so that's another reason keeping her to a confined area at first will help. (Adult cats can catch and transmit the parasites easily, but they usually don't have symptoms.)

Otherwise, my advice would be to kitten proof the bathroom! Anything and everything in that she can get to she will, so remove anything that you wouldn't want to be used as a toy. Also secure drawers and any small spaces that she could crawl into and get into trouble. And since she's a kitten, she'll want to play a lot! Be ready for lots of play sessions. A fun wand toy might be useful to give her a lot of exercise!

Bonne chance et felicitations!

Toys. Lots and lots of toys. Even the cardboard from a toilet roll would be good. She'll need lots of distractions and cuddles. 

Is the association bringing anything for the kitten? Mine supply food, beds, anything I ask for. 

Towels are great too, they're nice on the floor, make a great toy and can be used to clean up after them. Just a couple of hand towels will do. I bought a  cheap set from Carrefour which are the cat towels. 

As Molly says keep them separate at first, the new kitten will need some time to settle in and get used to you. 

Clear the floor. If something's on the floor she'll be in or on it. 

@Molly92 @Pegleg Thank you both so much. I was a bit frantic yesterday. Your posts helped a lot, I feel more grounded today.

I got an e-mail last night, the kitty's name is Joséphine. I'm sorry, but I hate it (for a cat anyway). I'll see about the name, but there's a chance she will just be "Jo". Or maybe she's going to whisper her name in my ear, who knows?

So, I have kitten proofed the studio, including the bathroom. I removed every bottle of product in there, just to be safe. I will add towels with the bedding, that's going to be easier to clean, awesome idea.

I have lots of toys already, and I make my own balls with empty toilet paper rolls. Plus you can add a treat inside, that's making them work to get to it! She also will have a cardboard box with soft bedding and toys in it. I also have wand toys with different feathers, the infamous "red dot", and a catit play and scratch (Sparrow loves it, as does Amé, the neighbor's 2 month old male kitty).

About the food, I give Sparrow the brand MAC's (I discussed it in another thread here : http://www.thecatsite.com/t/296015/...et-wet-food-i-can-buy-on-zooplus#post_4081147), and some Friskies to help cut costs. I will give Jo some MAC's and see how that goes. I hope she wasn't on dry before, that's going to be easier on her stomach. In case, I have some goat yoghurt, can I give her a little spoon of that? I'll go now and get some baby food just in case.

Sparrow is going outdoors with me, on a harness and leash, every day for about 1/2 hour. I treated him preventively for fleas last month. However, I'm late in giving him his worming tablet. I'll see about that on Monday. His last vet appointment was June, and everything was OK.

It's 9.30 AM here, I still have a lot to do before 11.30 AM. I will post pics (lots of it!) as soon as I can. And I will keep Miss Jo's foster journal here.

Miss Jo doesn't sound bad at all actually. I'll think about it.

Josefa goes to Pepa in Spanish, that might suit her.

I've got Mac's (and Carey, Schmusy and a few other German brands) for the kittens and they love it. She most likely won't need any goat yoghurt or baby food. Three months is old enough to be on normal kitty food unless the vet says so.

It can be worrying at first but you're about to find out how fun this is. Just keep it in your mind they're just here temporarily, or you'll end up with six cats.

I would actually like to retract my earlier statement. Josephine sounds awesome when pronounced in English. I hadn't thought about that. I do like Pepa. We'll see.

I'm almost done here, and I didn't get the baby food yet, so I'll wait and see. Sparrow loves his MAC's, but present him with Fancy Feast and he'll go nuts.

I forgot to mention that he's neutered, tattooed and vaccinated (CRP and FeLV).

Should I get some Feliway?

As soon as I'm done, I'll take pics of the bathroom. I just want to make sure to have the best start possible.

And yes, I think we're going to have fun! SO is delighted to have a kitten for the first time in his life. He wasn't allowed to have pets as a kid, so his first ever was my late Kyran eight years ago, and Sparrow is his second. Both were adults.

BTW, SO does mean Significant Other, right? I've been using it thinking that's the meaning, just want to make sure

I would love having 6 cats, I just don't have the space. One day maybe.

I don't think Miss Jo has been vetted yet, so keeping her separate is definitely the way to go.

And Josie's a cute diminutive, too.

Yes SO is significant other, it took me a minute!

Mine love Sheba, I only get the Duet in chicken/birds which is grain free. They turned their nose up at Applaws tins.

Yes kittens are very exciting and need a lot of attention. Check with the association if she's been tested/vaccinated.

I have two cats and four fosters. It's great fun but a lot of work.

I bet it's a lot of work. The best part for me is that SO and I work from home. We're here all day, at the most we're gone a couple hours, and rarely at the same time. I better get going, I only have half an hour left!

She's here! OMG she's gorgeous. And playful. And a cuddle bug. And a headbutter! I miss head butts.

She's hasn't seen a vet yet, but was treated for fleas and worms yesterday. I weighted her (put her in a giant bowl, that was fun), she's 1.240 Kg. That's 2 lb 11 oz. She's scheduled to go to the vet next month, to get a check up, estimate her age better, and schedule a spay and tattoo.

She seems to like her bathroom very much, and already ate a little, and pooped in her litterbox. She plays, take a look around, eat, play, take a look around, eat...

Sparrow and Josephine have not met. He smelled her in her carrier, but that's it. For now, he's upstairs sleeping, and Miss Jo is downstairs playing with SO.

Upstairs will remain Josephine-free for now.

Miss Jo's rescuers gave us food, toys and an anti-choking collar that they bought for her. That's so sweet! She loves a mouse toy in particular, so after she was done playing with it, I gave it to Sparrow so he can get used to the scent. That's it for now, we are already in love, of course

OK I couldn't resist and made a video, she's so cute :

 

Poor Sparrow is a little bit confused. If I smell like Josephine, he growls at me. He even hissed at me a couple of times. He's never done that before. I'm going to change every time I go see Miss Jo, and wash my hands. I will pick up some Feliway tomorrow, couldn't hurt.

So the plan is to do some scent swapping. With a sock at first, and then with a blanket, which I will put under Miss Jo's door, and feed them that way until they're good with it.

Something I didn't think about : bathroom light. There's no windows in there, so for now I left the light on. But it's a yellow neon. Should I replace that with a white led lamp? If thinking no because poor Jo will probably think it's daylight all the time. I don't have a nightlight. Is the neon OK or should I find something else?

Miss Josephine has diarrhea. The brown and runny kind. I thought she was peeing at first. Should I just let it be or can I do something to help her?

It may be from a change in her diet. You can sprinkle probiotic powder into her wet food to help stabilize the flora in her intestines. You can also give her a teaspoon of plain, canned pumpkin once or twice a day to help firm her stool.

Give it a day or two. If it doesn't improve she may need to see a vet for treatment.

I didn't change her diet, I gave her the same kibbles she had before. But it's Friskies, so maybe that's it. Could it also be stress related?

I don't have probiotic powder, but I have plain goat yoghurt. It's 0% fat, is it still ok?

I'll get her some pumpkin tomorrow, all the stores are closed on Sundays.

Yes, it could also be stress. Yogurt is excellent. It will help if you purchase probiotic capsules and break them open and put the powder in her wet food. You may want to try Fancy Feast. And you can also give her plain, boiled chicken.

Let me know if her diarrhea improves with yogurt today.

Great, I'll give her some. How much should I give? A spoonful/day?

A teaspoonful 2 times a day while she's having the diarrhea.

Thanks @sarthur2, I will.

She loved the yoghurt! Licked her spoon clean. I also comb her for fleas just in case, and of course she still have a little. Some were dead, some alive, so I used the water and oil trick with a flea comb. That worked great!

I would like to give her a bath, but I don't have any Dawn. I do have Cadum without soap : here is the composition : Aqua, sodium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium chloride, glycerin, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, CI 17200 (red33), geraniol, parfum (fragrance), alpha-isomethyl ionone, sodium benzoate, sodium hydroxide, coumarin, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, laureth-2, citronellol, tetrasodium gluutamate diacetate, hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde, citric acid, butylphenyl methylpropional, hexyl cinnamal, polyquaternium-7, benzyl salicylate, benzyl alcohol. 

Is it safe?

I'm not sure. It needs to be mild. I see that you are in France. Do you have liquid dish soap?

I'm glad to hear she liked the yogurt. Please let us know if it helps.

I do, but it's Lemon scented.

I think it should be okay.