First time fostering mother cat and kittens

[Chronicler]

I just started fostering a mom cat and her 5 kittens at a little over 2 weeks old now.

I went into this feeling like I was ready for anything, having binged all the videos and informational article I could find, but turns out I'm already overwhelmed with questions on some details I never considered. The shelter I'm working with is understaffed and very busy with kitten season, so getting advice from them is currently a very slow process. I was hoping to maybe get some insight from others who've taken care of little ones before!

1. Mama isn't grooming the kittens very thoroughly. I'll often see her giving each kitten a lick or two, usually on the head and just leaving it at that, leaving a lot of urine and feces caked around the kitten's rear ends. I'd like some tips as to how to safely wash the kittens to keep them cleaner? I'm going to go pick up some cat-safe wipes from the pet store after work today, but any advice on how to handle the babies while cleaning them would be great

2. The kittens seem to sometimes be able to go without stimulation from the mom, and are often pooping and peeing all over the nest. I'm changing the bedding twice a day and I noticed that most of the poop is watery with no solid shape and very bright yellow. Is this normal? And is this a sign to start providing a shallow litter box, or is it still too early?

That's it for now, but I'm sure I'll have more questions in the following days!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi and Welcome!
This can provide you with useful information, and there are experts here on this site who will see your post soon;

Kitten Care - View All — Kitten Lady

 

[Sarthur2]

Clean the kittens’ bottoms with a warm, damp cloth as needed. Apply A&D ointment to any who have urine or fecal burns.

Five kittens may be a bit much for mom to keep up with by herself, so she’ll appreciate the help.

Watery, bright yellow diarrhea may indicate a coccidia infection. The cure would be a round of Albon for the kittens. Their poop should be the consistency of toothpaste, and pale yellow.

If they have coccidia, it’s a parasite they got from mom, so she’ll need treating too. And no, 2-week-old kittens are too young to litter train yet.

Thank you for fostering!!

 

[Chronicler]

Thanks for the tip about the burns, that didn't even occur to me! I just did a supply run, I'll start helping mom clean up the babies as part of my routine

I'll mention the watery poop to the vet then!

 

[Chronicler]

I fell super sick and was bedridden all week, thankfully I had left the cats at the vet for a checkup so they kept the family for the week while I recovered. I'm picking them back up this Monday, and at this point they'll be about 3.5w old!

I've been thinking about getting one of those large pop-up playpens, for these guys and for future foster litters but I'm not sure if they count as keeping the kittens separate from my own cat. Any insight on this? Is there any airborne diseases to be worried about or is the main risk just from physical contact?

I'm interested because I'm in a studio setup, and my only room with a door, the washroom, has less floor space than most medium sized playpens I've looked at (while also having the bathtub/toilet blocked while I'm fostering, making access to both really difficult)

 

[Sarthur2]

If your cat is up to date on vaccines there is little risk, especially as this litter has been at the vet for a week, and presumably any issues would have been noticed and treated.

Kittens outgrow pop-ups really quickly!

 

[Chronicler]

My cat is vaccinated and perfectly healthy, so that's good to hear! Especially good since eventually I'd like to give them more space in my apartment, but I have no other separated areas to keep them away from my cat

By the time the kittens outgrow a playpen they definitely would have outgrown my tiny bathroom, so that sounds like an option then! Even if these guys won't use it long, it'll be good for when I get more mom cats in the future. The bathroom setup really just wasn't working for me

 

[Chronicler]

Just wanted to give an update! All of the kittens have grown up healthy, spayed, and as of this week every single one has found their forever home! The mom is still with me until she gets spayed (there's a huge backlog for sterilization surgeries so she's on the waitlist for an indeterminate amount of time)

It's been a crazy journey and fostering kittens have been an incredible experience. It's been an intense period, as I was giving palliative care to a resident cat with cancer at the time, who passed away recently, while I was caring for the kittens. The company of them and their mother has done me so much good for the grieving process. It was so difficult to say goodbye to them

I'm going to need a long break from doing that again, but I'll definitely do it again for next year's kitten season!

 

[Furballsmom]

Thank you for such a wonderful update !