Urgent Needs
There are countless ways to get involved with the Neonatal Foster Program, but these specific areas are our greatest needs right now!
Orphaned bottle babies (newborns-4 weeks) are our greatest need when searching for fosters. They require the most care since they must be fed every 2-3 hours during the day with one longer period overnight up to 4-5 hours. They do not take up a lot of space at this age and it is incredibly rewarding watching them grow into mini cats! Because of their intensive schedule and their increased chances of needing medical care, we suggest that new fosters start with kittens 4+ weeks old before jumping into the deep end with bottle babies.
We need fosters for kitty families! The Neonatal Program relies heavily on fosters who take pregnant cats to help us save even more orphaned kittens- when healthy orphaned bottle babies arrive, our first choice for them is always with a mama cat! Because cats can often nurse up to 8 kittens, we will add these kittens on to any mama cat who has fewer than 8 healthy kittens around the same age. We only consider this option for kittens under 3 weeks old, so mama cats who have just given birth are vital to our program!
Fostering kittens with moms can be a great fit for new fosters and folks who have busy schedules, because mama cats do most of the work!
Our overnight foster rotation helps us save even more lives! By signing up for just one night a week as an emergency overnight foster, you help us ensure that at-risk kittens will have a safe home while we make a long-term foster plan. We ask that folks foster at least 2 litters before joining the overnight rotation, due to the likelihood our our urgent kittens needing a slightly higher level of care.