Group No. 3: Sun and Moon

My third group of kittens, Sun and Moon.  Got them just as we were decorating for Christmas.  They are furry and hug-able and lovely!  They came to the humane society from a shelter so don't know much about them.  I think they must have had a mother, wish I knew their story.  They have been the noisiest, but its because they have so much energy.  They always know when it's time for breakfast and dinner.  No health or weight issues, just easy and playful.  They enjoyed checking out the Christmas tree.  Hope they find wonderful families for their Christmas miracle!

Group No. 2: Coral and Gill

My second group of foster kittens, Coral and Gill.  Got them 2 months after my first group.  They are my Halloween kittens, black with little white marks, just beautiful!  They are climbers!  They are also quickly getting used to life with kids, a dog, and lots of noise. 

My entire family visits more often since I started fostering, who can resist kittens!

Group No. 1: Day 36: Goodbye to Gandolf, Gigi, and Gwen

Returned the kittens to the shelter today. It was very sad to say good-bye, but this time it's for sure. They are off to a new life with new families. Their next step is surgery, then only a few days later, they go out for adoption.


I had a chance to find out several things I wondered about. The reason the surgery is not scheduled with a firm date is because the vets they use service all the animal shelters in the entire county, so not just one shelter, but many. The foster animals from the Humane Society are scheduled after the shelter animals, and because animals come in every day, they may or may not be able to get in for their neuter/spay as expected. Space is an issue and if the kittens have to wait in the shelter, they may be exposed unnecessarily to illnesses from new animals being brought in. They asked about the animals personalities and interesting info for the potential adopters. I typed it up and emailed it after I dropped off the kittens.


Would I do this again? Absolutely! It was a great experience for our family and we enjoyed taking care of kittens. They are so irresistibly cute and fun to watch. Of course my kids wanted to adopt and keep them, but I didn't. I knew they were only ours for a short time and as much as I loved them, I never thought about adopting. It's a lot of work being mom to 2 children and 5 animals (ours included). And kittens are babies, they cry for their food and there is lots of poop and pee to clean! Next time I will stock up on food and kitty litter to save myself trips to pick up supplies. I will also give the kids more responsibility, like cleaning up the cage and feeding.

I have no doubt they will be adopted to good families, but will wonder where they are, hopeful that someone was crazy enough to take them all and keep them together!

Day 30

Found out we still can't return kittens. We had a goodbye ceremony and thought we were really bringing them back, but got a last minute call to keep them till next week! We were all mentally ready to give them back, but if they are just going to sit in a cage at the shelter, we might as well keep them. The kids will be going back to school so it's going to be very busy for us, but the kittens have been a real joy. They are so social now, we really feel they are prepared for life in the real world. They are not scared by dogs barking, or airplanes, or kids video games and screaming. Our cat never warmed up to them so they did not get to interact with an old adult female cat, but the kittens were always curious and never afraid. I actually never gave them the chance to get too close because I could not trust our cat's reactions.

We have taken hundreds of photos to remember them by, and given lots of hugs and kisses knowing we won't have them much longer. I have to admit I am frustrated on the return schedule. I guess I thought it was more firm than tentative, but we will know for next time. I do know I am bringing them back next week for sure. I know they will be okay even if they have to wait again for their surgery.

Day 29

Today is the scheduled return day for the kittens. I have just learned that they don't have room for them and that their surgery for spay and neuter can't be scheduled yet. Not sure why, but the kids don't mind keeping them for a few more days. The kittens are now all over 2 lbs and 2 months old. I have stopped weighing them, they eat well and play hard!

Day 25

The kitties are now 8 weeks old and crazy with energy. Constantly running and playing. Nothing so rough that our 9 year old can't cope. We remind everyone to be sure the kittens are not under foot when getting up from a chair or the couch. So far, we've had no accidents, but they are getting bolder and more curious!! Two of them tried to climb into the dishwasher as I was loading it! Gandolf, the boy cat, found a way inside the arm of our couch, the inside of the framing!! He could get out, but it was quite a surprise to hear meowing from inside the couch!!

We are counting the days until they are returned to be adopted out. Everyone will be sad to see them go, it's our first time so it will be extra hard. We know they will be easy to adopt out, they are so fun to be around and love human company.

I would say I've run out of various supplies about 2 or 3 times over the course of this month. I've just emailed the foster coordinator and she has things ready for pick up in their office. That has made it easy to just run by and get it, but since the place is locked up, someone needs to be at the facility to let you in.

For anyone taking on this loving effort of fostering kittens, you really just need to be able to handle the smells of cat food and poop - both are very stinky. The rest is easy!!

Day 21

The kitties have been gaining weight consistantly now. The boy has been gaining an easy 20 grams a day! The girls less, but almost 10 grams a day. They are now eating more dry food, and I have stopped wet food for lunch. The dry food really has made a difference in their weight gain.

I would say to anyone who takes on fostering kittens, especially the 5 to 8 week kittens, they are fun, not a tremendous amount of work, but a regular effort to keep them fed on time and their environment clean. Playtime and having fun is really important and they are so curious. They need a safe space to have adventures.

My kittens do not necessarily seem to need to be held and petted, they prefer each other for interactions, but Gandolf in particular loved to sleep on someone. I can tell they are all getting used to being petted, and we have invited all the guests to our house to touch them so they get used to different styles of handling. I hope this helps them adjust as they go out into the world!!

Day 17

What fun we've been having. The kittens have become VERY active and love to chase and play fight. They have also learned about dogs. Dogs bark, dogs run, some dogs don't like to be crawled on. The kitties don't seem to be scared or bothered. Our dog Roy has also learned about small furry running animals. He has been very patient and has not once lunged or chased them. They escape quite often from the living room where they spend most of their time, and they run like true escapees, across to our dining room. The dog just watches as they scurry by. They even wander our kitchen area together, with no problems.

We have been very pleased, but we took it very slowly. The dog was only allowed to watch them for the first 10 days or so. Then we let him in their area, then we allowed the kitties out into his area. We watch very closely, since I don't believe you can truly trust nothing will happen. No matter how good the dog is, I think constant supervision is required.

It would be a tragedy to think "my cat or dog would never...", because they just might. I have decided not to let our cat around the kittens. She is really not pleased to see them and is happy to find other places around the house to hang out.

Day 13

Since I am hoping this blog will help others who foster for the humane society in San Diego, I want to include a few things I have learned so far...with my grand total of 13 days experience!

• Three 5-week old kittens can share one litter box, three 6-1/2 week old kittens can't. They poop and pee around the box instead of in it, since two tend to go at the same time (and they don't fit as well). You'll need 2 boxes as they get bigger.
• Stick to the toys they give you, I just re-read notes from my orientation, weeks before I actually got kittens, and was reminded not to give them anything with cat-nip. I have not shared any of my cat-nip cat toys, but my little nephew almost did. Will have to ask why this is not good for kittens.
  
• They are completely silent when playing. A person could easily step on one or sit on one, and they can squeeze through tiny holes when they want to, and believe me...they want to!! You'll need to re-cat proof from time to time.
• When you take them to a vet appointment, you don't get to go back with the kitties. I did not know this, and since I had questions, it was a little hard to get a proper answer. I found that if I wrote a note for the vet to see, the assistant who brought back the kittens to me, had the answers from the vet. I thought that worked well.
• The coordinator is great...she is always available and will call to talk to you anytime you need to. I've been lucky with healthy, happy, no big problem kitties, but I am sure that is not always the case.
• It's FUN! Kittens are just fun to play with, watch them play, and watch develop new skills. They are amazing, cute, sweet balls of fur!!!
  

Day 11

We have settled into a nice routine of eat, sleep and playtime. The kittens love playtime and we have been slowly adding areas of the living room for them to roam. We also have been adding new toys. Today we introduced a cat tunnel. It crinkles and has strings - cat heaven! They love batting at it!

We also introduced the dog. He does not bark at them or show any strong reaction when they get close to him, although when they are close, he does his best not to stare at them directly. I know he just wants to get to their food - cat food is really stinky and quite tempting I'm sure.

Their weights are much better now. The male cat has gained the most and is over 1 and 1/2 lbs already. He is tall dark and handsome, and loves to snuggle. The girls also have their own personalities. My kids have given them nicknames:

• Gwen is the smallest but the most curious so her name is Curiosity. She is also the only one that purrs so far.
• Gigi is the furriest and she has the sweetest face, we call her Sweetie. She is the only one with full whiskers...I'll have to ask why since the others look like theirs were trimmed off.
• Gandolf, the male, is the most likely to make the first strike at play, but he also just loves to sit on you. We call him Mischief.

Day 9

Kittens have learned to climb up the metal cage!! It's unbelievable how they change from day to day. They are so much more active this week, and that also means a little louder. The boy, Gandolf, and started growling when he plays with his little fur ball, he carries it around like prey and then lets out this gutteral growl when the girls come over to play with him.

Their play is really rough and bothers my youngest son to see them biting and kicking each other. As we watch them, I've explained that they know how to communicate to each other to say, "hey - you're too rough - knock it off"! They are silent when they roughhouse, even when getting kicked in the face repeatedly with a hind leg kangaroo kick. But they meow when it gets too rough and you can see that they are communicating quite clearly to "cool it".

I wish our boys would listen that well to each other so mom would not have to come in to break it up!!

Day 8

Right on queue, the kitties are 6 weeks old and climbing and escaping! They have discovered how to use their little claws! They are also running, and fighting each other. Quite funny to watch, and we spend a lot of time just watching them amuse each other.

The vet visit went well, the day I took them in, they had gained weight, and since then, things have been better. So looking back, it took 5 days for them to adjust to our house and our eating schedule. I tried to keep it on the hours they were feed at the shelter, but it's creeped out to about an hour later for each feeding. They are hungrier than they were before and the two bigger ones are much more comfortable eating the wet food, the littlest one still kind of licks at it and slurps at it. I think she is still dreaming about milk!

Day 5

All the kitties have been losing weight since they came home with us. Emailed the foster coordinator to ask if this is normal. She called back and was concerned enough to ask us to take them into the vet. She told me that she is looking for at least a 10 gram increase in weight daily. I wish I knew that earlier, that is an easy thing to remember to help me gauge how things are going.

The magic number is 2 months and 2 lbs before they can be returned and go up for adoption, but we report the weight daily to the foster coordinator in grams. How many grams are in 2 lbs? I'll have to look that up...

Day 2

Since I am to weigh the kitties at the same time everyday, I decided to do it just before lunch so they have time to digest their breakfast. They are down in weight a little and not sure if that is to be expected, but will see how tomorrow goes. I imagine they are as unsure about this change in environment as we are!

The kids have been a big help keeping playing with them and being concerned that things are set up correctly for them, although cleaning up after them is my job. No one likes cleaning up poop!

They are not too mobile yet, they aren't climbing anything. They are a little nervous about hearing the dog bark, but not afraid and hiding. That's good. I was told that they change quickly and I believe it, but have to see it. Right now they are angels, sitting quietly in our laps and so easy to snuggle.

Day 1

Arrived at the Humane Society office to pick up three kittens. All I know is that they are 5 weeks old and I have been asked to keep them until they are 8 weeks old and 2 lbs. At that age and weight they can be "fixed" and then go out for adoption. They are from a litter of 5, but I will only have three, which is good!

At the front gate, it's locked and I don't know if I push the night bell or if I just wait till someone walks by. Someone walks by and lets us in. I brought my kids with me, since I am partially doing this as a summer activity for them, they spend a lot of time in the house. I am hoping we will all learn something, about ourselves, each other, and kittens.

The foster coordinator has all the supplies ready for us, everything we will need, how wonderful. This includes a 4 x 4, completely enclosed cage. She has included toys and told me they seem to prefer fuzzy mice (just like our 10 year old cat at home)! The paper work gives us their names, age and weights. We have the "G" group, Gwen, Gigi and Gandolf. Great names! They are 430, 500, and 500 grams in weight respectively. All a grey-blue color, Gigi is the long hair kitty, but they are all fuzzy balls of fur, and completely quiet. No meows yet. I asked, but did not get any info on where they came from or why they were missing their mother. The paperwork says they were transferred from another shelter so they probably lost their mom and were found by someone and taken into the pound.

Our job is to help them gain weight and socialize them to a human household. They will be indoor kitties so they will get used to indoor sounds, with kids in the house, the TV and Wii going, they will get lots of sounds. We also will be introducing them to a dog eventually, but not right away. I have a feeling our cat will care less about them.

Setting up their cage at home was easy. It was fun getting their playground set up, food bowls, litter box, etc. I was amazed that from this very first day, they know to use the litter box. Sometimes they miss, but for the most part, they are very clean. I was also wondering and a little concerned about how noisy they would be, so far very, very quiet. Their meows are so soft and cute. I think we are going to have a lot of fun over the next 3 weeks...knock on wood!