Kittens on the choo choo shoes for attention.

My current litter is about 5 weeks old now. They came in with mom (~1yr) at 3 days old, and had an interloper who was ~3 weeks old that was attached to mom.

I handled them as very young kittens every day- at the very least for daily weigh ins. During this handling I would try to do basic ENS with them, as well as (gently) handling their paws.

Besides that, I tried to not handle them too too much until they were up and walking around so as not to stress out mom. The oldest kitten has never really enjoyed handling all that much, but idk what she experienced before she got here.

At about 4 weeks old, I started doing intermittent nail trims- just one paw at a time and not every day. Most of them seem amenable to it until their tolerance runs out and I let them go.

At 5 weeks old, they seem somewhat skittish of being picked up. Some are more skittish than others. One or two of them will lay in my lap and fall asleep if I sit on the floor with them. The others will take turns crawling on my legs and up my shirt. One is more skittish/standoffish than others and I cannot figure out why. Even if I lay my hand flat on the ground and wiggle my fingers she will back up and away from me (it gets the other kittens to forget about being scared and want to play instead- it just doesn't work on her).

Mom herself isn't a mega cuddler, and does not enjoy being picked up. She'll tolerate it, but wants down asap. She just likes being petted on the ground, and will seek me out for petting/attention when she's ready/interested. She really enjoyed when I would pet her head while the babies were nursing.

The mom is a tortie. The oldest kitten is a torbie, there are 4 tortie girls, an orange girl, and an orange boy.

I'm not sure if this is a genetic thing, an age thing (puppies go through fear periods- do kittens?), or if I did socialization wrong/badly.

These rescue kittens are part of a litter of 6- my friend is helping get them ready for adoption. She wants these two to stay together they are so adorable!
Im just worried about my housemate not allowing two, she said one is ok but they are paired so well together. My place is somewhat small, no closet and not a ton of space but good windows and little front yard with chicken wire I put on for added protection. It was for my sweet elderly kiity Muffler, who just passed away in April this year. 😭💖
She was just over 18. I wasn’t planning on adopting another kitty, let alone two. But these two popped up and its so hard to not want them!
Any advice on having two little torties?
Thank you! 🙏🏼 I’ll

Say hello to Bastet and Lionel. Lionel is the one with bright blue and pink collar, and Bastet has the gold and black collar. Lionel has started eating wet food with no issue that is mixed with formula. I’ve tried soaked dry food, the treat tubes mixed with formula, and wet food mixed with formula. She refuses to take anything but the bottle, but she takes part of that completely fine. Still active, still wrestling with her brother. They were abandoned by their mother so I’ve been taking care of them since two weeks. Just want to know if I’m doing anything wrong at all. First time raising kittens this young, but not my first time having cats. Thank you so much for any advice and any time you take out of your day to interact with the post.

This is Vasylyna. We call her our little grandma, but she’s still very active and makes sure every visitor gets a greeting.

You came for coffee? Lovely. You also came to see Vasylyna. She has decided.

She lives with us at Khvostyky, our rescue cat café in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. The ginger girl in the other photos is Sima, who was evacuated from Kramatorsk with several other cats.

Vinnytsia has experienced Russian strikes too. The attempts to leave Ukraine without electricity and heating are frightening, especially when you have animals depending on you.

And then this little grandma is there, ready to meet another person. We love seeing how much she still enjoys life. Keeping her fed, warm, and cared for is something we can keep doing, even when everything feels difficult...

Hey everyone, bit of a long one!

I'm wondering how long is too long to have the same foster animal...

We've had a cat since September 2025 who is still with us. She's our first foster and we made it very clear to the foster woman we took her from that we are unable to adopt this cat, as we are not sure if we will be permanently settling in the country we're currently living in (we're British/Kiwi, living in Australia). We've stayed in generally ok contact with this woman throughout our foster time, and I reached out to her a few months ago saying that this cat is definitely ready to be adopted, and reiterated that we cannot adopt her ourselves.

She replied saying no prob but the best thing to do is figure out whether this cat can live with other cats, to see whether that opens the door to additional potential adopters. We would be open to taking in a second cat for a trial period but that won't be able to happen until February 2027 as our flatmate is moving out and I want the spare room as a cat room to introduce the two cats to each other.

By February 2027 we will have had our current cat for about 1.5 years. This seems like a crazy amount of time to foster an animal for and I'm extremely concerned that the cat we currently have is going to feel abandoned by us when she eventually is moved to whoever adopts her.

I'm wondering what everyone else's experience is with long term fosters, and how the animal has adjusted to a new home after being cared for by other people for an extended period of time.

TLDR - we've been fostering a cat for over a year, will she feel abandoned by us when we eventually find her a forever home? How long is too long to foster?

My first foster early return 😢 I'd love some hope or clarification from kitten foster extraordinaires.... I was given a single 4 week old. I have fostered 7x, and he is the first single I've had.

He was perky and meowy on the way home four days ago. No ill health symptoms. But since then, he doesn't eat well and is quieter and quieter. I've done slurry in bottle, syringe, all different foods in a bowl. He takes half-hearted bite or two and that's it. Every once in a while (maybe twice a day), he would latch onto the bottle and get a few good shallows in before pulling off.

He just doesn't want to eat.

His weight flatlined.

I told the shelter he is declining and that I'm unable to continue care (I was getting up twice a night to try to get him to eat, but I work a lot this week and can't keep on this schedule.)

I just dropped him off at the shelter. They will evaluate him and maybe place him with someone else if he seems like he can make it.

Please, tell me anything you can. Can he turn around? What could be going on? My heart is breaking.

No photos because I can't bear to see his face right now. Thank you. This is so hard.

I just wanted to share this precious old man with folks who understand! He spent a long time at the sanctuary of the rescue I volunteer for, waiting for someone to take him home and love him, and watching as so many of his younger and more outgoing counterparts get adopted. The only thing he wants is constant human contact; he craves love and affection like no other cat I’ve ever met. 🥹

I got deeply attached to him through my work at the rescue, and when he was diagnosed with end stage heart disease, I couldn’t ignore the voice in my heart that said I needed to take him home so he would know what a quiet and loving home would feel like. I work a hybrid schedule and my husband works fully remotely, so he hasn’t been alone once since coming home with us.

I love this kitty as fiercely as if I’d had him for years instead of days. I don’t think he will be around much longer - he’s comfortable and breathing easy but seems more lethargic these last couple of days, and I can tell the light in his eyes is growing dim. I feel like other (non-rescue) people in my life don’t get why I chose to do this, or how sad I’ll be when he is gone since I’ve only had him for about a week. I just wanted to share with folks who understand how much he matters and how loved he is. Wish I could have given him this life for years, but I’m so happy he knows he is safe and can get cuddles 24/7. ❤️

Meet Apollo (pic 1) and Mercury (pic 2), formerly known as Diana and Victoria!

We thought we were given an all girl squad by the shelter and got ourselves a surprise a couple of days ago! We emailed the shelter and their records are officially updated. Lesson learned: double check before you settle on foster names 😅

I have raised plenty of kittens never have I had it as bad as this little terror. Meet Peggy she’sis about 8 weeks old at this point and SHE LOVES TO GO FOR FACES?!? Claws out biting. She is a solo foster. I found her end of September by a bush bad infected eye. She doesn’t have great eye sight in its ether so she a bit uncoordinated but THAT DOESN’T stop her from jumping from the back of the couch and LATCHING on your face like she’s a face hugger from alien. I’ve been trying so hard to keep up ouches and that hurts when she’s playing. She loves attacking hands too. Swapping to toys, but SHE CRAVES THE MAN FLESH! I’m at my wits end here. When she gets too riled up i put her in her room. AND I FEEL SO DANG BAD! I don’t know if she had litter mates, as i found her alone, she understands ouch but I’m scared she will be like this with her new family too. HELP!

Hi,
I am currently fostering 2 4month old kittens. They are siblings, both females and cute as a button. There was an adoption drive yesterday and one of the two was in high demand (orange, and the cutest smoochiest face ever). A lot of people are inquiring about her but only her. When I insist they be adopted together, people back off.

I know kittens aren't usually considered bonded, but they are very close. They groom each other, sleep together, play, tear my house down etc. I would hate to see them separated. The rescue I work with dont care if they go separately but are allowing me to take the final decision.
What do I do?

(Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/FosterAnimals/s/2tjImto4qi)

Found a very sick kitten 3 days ago and immediately went to the vet. They hardly checked anything. They took one look at him and pretty much said he's not going to make it so they didnt even bother. I contacted rescues and they never got back to me. I fed him when I got home not knowing, until after doing some research, that feeding kittens with low body temp is no good. I went back and told the vet that I'll care for him at home to at least give him a fighting chance. I had them administer an antibiotic shot and prescribe some for home. They also gave him fluids. I came home and my husband ordered an incubator that won't be here until later today so he immediately went to work building a makeshift one. We got his temp up to 100.5 so we were letting him eat again. Since then he hasn't pooped. He actually hasn't pooped since we found him. He pees, he's alert, and responsive. I tried stimulating his belly and butt and still nothing. Should I still feed him or wait for him to poop?

I’m writing this with tears in my eyes, hoping someone with a kind heart might be able to help me and my little girl, Katie.

Katie is my 3-year-old cat and my emotional support companion. Due to unexpected financial hardship, my family and I had to move into a shelter. I’ve submitted all the paperwork to have Katie reunited with me, and my social worker says approval could take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks, possibly less.

I am NOT giving Katie away. I just need someone to love and protect her until she can come home to me.

Katie has always been an indoor cat, raised with nothing but love, affection, and attention. She’s never known what it’s like to be alone.

Unfortunately, the person currently keeping her has her confined to a basement, surrounded by stored belongings, where she spends most of her time alone. She cries at night, barely wants to eat, and every time I visit her, it breaks my heart to leave her there.

She’s never lived like this. She used to sleep surrounded by family, receive endless cuddles, and be brushed and pampered. Now, I barely recognize my once-happy little girl.

I’m desperately looking for someone who can open their home to Katie for just a few weeks.

🐾 She’s 3 years old, healthy, spayed, microchipped, and fully vaccinated.

🐾 She’s affectionate, gentle, loves being petted, and enjoys sleeping comfortably.

🐾 A quiet home without young children or dogs would be ideal, as she’s not accustomed to either.

🐾 I will provide her food, litter, and everything she needs.

I’m located in Midtown Manhattan, NYC.

I visit Katie as often as I can, but between shelter rules and caring for my 14-year-old son and my family, I cannot stay with her.

I’m losing sleep worrying about her, especially with the colder weather approaching. She has already lost the comfort of the only home she’s ever known. I don’t want her to lose her sense of safety, too.

I’m not asking anyone to adopt her. I’m only asking someone to be her safe place until I can bring her back into my arms.

If you have a little space in your home and a lot of love in your heart, please consider helping Katie.

Please DM me if you can help, or share this with someone who might. Even a temporary act of kindness would mean more to us than words can express.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️🐾

We urgently took in an approximately 2 week old kitten Friday night and as it was late the only formula option was PetAG Milk Replacer Plus. Everything I’ve seen says this is a perfectly fine formula, but I’m a chronic over-thinker and someone who tends to go beyond for my fur-babies, and I was wondering if it’s worth it to try and transition her to KMR or KMR Goats Milk and how to gently and safely do so.

She’s eating well, gaining weight, and having great pee and poo so far. Photo for tax, she was snoozing so good 😴

I have a litter of approximately 12 week old fosters with Mystery Diarrhea (at this point). I've had them since 9/20, and they've had not great poops the entire time. They tested postive for giardia on intake, and based on the look of their poop I suspected coccidia as well.

Fecal test on 10/14 was CLEAR (I know this doesn't always mean it's truly clear, but it's pertinent info).

What we've tried:

-10 days of panacur (mild improvement, probably from the giardia standpoint)

-5 days of toltrazuril (given at same time as pancur, so mild improvement)

-5 days of metronidazole (made them worse)

-10 days of azithromycin (moderate improvement, but still not great for two of them. We've seen a lot of crypto this year, so this was on assumption of that diagnosis)

-Tried a run of poultry-free food (no real change)

They're happy, active, and gaining weight. I'm starting to consider dietary factors. I've cut off all wet food, and currently have them on Purina One Sensitive Stomach food. There's also another foster (unrelated) in with them and she's not caught whatever this is, making me think it may not be contagious. (Before anyone comes at me for having her with them, know that it was a risk vs benefit situation of her being alone and undersocialzed. She needed confident friends)

Any thoughts on things to try? I'm getting a little burnt out on dealing with loose poops. They're continent and always make it to the box, but still. It gets really disheartening to keep having them not make it over the hump.

Pic of one of my Problem Poopers, Wallace, for tax and of the poop itself.

Mom began as a feral stray and was very skittish at the beginning of the year, and little by little she became comfortable with me giving her food and being near her right around two months ago, she started to get very friendly with me and let me pet her and get near her and was more consistent on her visits to come eat, then she got pregnant and gave birth right around September 25, and honestly, I didn’t know where her babies were and then 2 1/2 weeks later after giving birth, I found her and her babies and brought the babies in and mom comes in and out to feed them.

As of this weekend, the babies will be three weeks old. They’re still napping a lot. Mommy feeds them every four hours, even though she hangs out by my door all day long and all night long, if she’s not exploring, waiting for me to let her in.

I’m a first time foster mom to kittens and I’m going to start this week to help them learn how to use the litter box and I’m so happy that I have a lot of people around me that are giving me tips on how to take care of them and donating things for the babies and for mama.

And the best thing of all is all the babies have found a forever home and at eight weeks they will go to their forever home while mom stays with me. and now she has her own little home by my door that is warm to keep her away from the elements. and yes, she will be getting fixed at the eight week mark when she stops nursing her babies.

Question?** **What kind of litter should I be using to introduce them to the litter box? I have seen big type of pellets, litter. I just need advice, and anything else, because they’re three weeks old

I rescued him when he was around two weeks. He loves to eat and is very active but for the past few days he hasn’t been pooping much. I used to be very surprised by how much he would poop, he would do it twice or 3 times per day. Now he is only doing it once and the volume is less. He also doesn’t poop or pee unless I stimulate him

I've been thinking about becoming a foster for some time now. My husband is on board and thinks it's a great idea. We've always had cats growing up and while together. I can't really imagine this home without them. It's just my husband and I in a quiet rural area, so it is a very calm environment. We both work, but I work from home. I only have one cat now and he is my whole world, but he is also 17 years old. When the time finally comes I want to make sure we have realistic expectations and a good idea of what we are getting ourselves into. Please share what your fostering journey has been like. What are some things you didn't expect? How should I prepare for this? If you could tell others that are thinking of fostering anything at all what would it be? Anything that can provide any insight would be helpful. Thank you and I love what you all are doing.