Cleaning & Decontaminating

How to thoroughly clean between litters 101:

Cleaning Q & A

What needs to be cleaned, and how often?

Please clean ALL supplies used for fostering at least between litters. Whether or not your foster kittens have any signs of illness, you will want to be sure to thoroughly disinfect everything they have touched as well as everything that you may have touched after coming in contact with the kittens. This includes carriers, toys, beds, blankets, litter boxes, syringes, bottles etc. Disinfecting these items is a critical part of keeping your foster kittens safe and healthy! Disinfecting more frequently than between litters is ideal- some illnesses, such as coccidia, are able to re-infect kittens if the contaminants remain in the environment. If your kittens have any symptoms of illness or are RW+, we suggest disinfecting at least every few days.

How do I prevent spreading germs/illness to my resident pets?

It's pretty simple, really! If your resident pets are healthy and current on their vaccines, simple hygiene should be enough to keep them safe. The #1 most important thing is hand washing. Washing your hands with soap and hot water is the biggest step you can take in preventing the spread of any illness. If your foster kittens are ill in any way, we also recommend:


What extra cleaning is required after fostering RW+ kittens?

Not much, actually! APA! does recommend a thorough cleaning with bleach at least once per week while fostering RW+ kitties, to prevent re-infection. If you follow our standard cleaning protocol as listed above, your space should be RW-free in time for your next litter. While you can't foster RW+ and RW-free kittens at the same time, there is no mandated waiting period between your RW+ kittens leaving, and you bringing home RW-free kittens. 

In what situations do I have to wait between fostering litters?

In many cases, you are welcome to have 2 different groups of litters at a time and take in new kittens at any point (as long as proper quarantine procedures are followed, of course!) However, there are two illnesses that cause a mandatory wait period before taking home more kittens: