Make sure your personal pets are in the best possible health. The majority of your fellow foster families have pets of their own, and in many cases, this does not limit your ability to foster! Although we may instruct you to keep your own companion animals separated from high-risk foster babies, it is important to make sure your own animals’ immune systems are as strong as possible. We encourage our foster families to keep their resident companions up to date on preventatives like vaccines and de-wormers, before bringing foster animals into your home. If your pet has any special needs, please speak to your veterinarian about whether or not fostering is right for you & your companion animals.
Where the Kitten Things Are: Your Foster Space
Foster kittens are tiny and cute, but just like children, they are also very curious. Once they become mobile they will try to get into everything to explore. Before you bring home your kittens, make sure that you have a suitable place for them to stay. Kittens are well kept in a separate room such as a bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room with tile or vinyl flooring. Cleaning up after kittens kept on carpeting is extremely difficult, but possible. Playpens, crates, and kitty condos are excellent tools for securing your kittens and queens when unsupervised or overnight. Other options include large dog crates, ferret cages, large carriers, guinea pig cages, pop-up tents, etc. We encourage you to be creative, just as long as the kittens are secure and in a safe enclosure.
The kitten space should adhere to the following guidelines:
A space where temperature can be controlled.
A space that can be easily cleaned and able to withstand kitty messes: litter box accidents, vomit, spilled water, etc. Surfaces are ideally solid, not carpeted, so they can be disinfected by using a mild bleach solution (e.g. 2 Tbsp bleach to 4 cups water).
Separate from other household pets. Foster pets should be separated from resident pets for everyone’s health and safety (See Kitten Quarantine below). Secure and escape-proof. Block off any spaces that the kittens could crawl into and hide in. Lock all windows (closed or with a secure screen).
Secured appliances (toilet lids closed). Gaps under your cabinets or appliances are blocked. Check behind your toilet for pipe access holes!
Free of other health hazards: No breakable items. Electrical outlets and wires are blocked. No small items lying about. Many plants are toxic to cats so make sure to check if your plants and flowers are cat and kitten-safe.
All of our foster kittens must be kept 100% indoors, with no risk of getting outside. At this age, they have compromised immune systems that are susceptible to illness and disease. Foster kittens may not be taken outside at any time unless secured in a travel carrier. Also, make sure everyone in the home is careful when opening or closing entrances leading to the outdoors.
Why Quarantine? For Everyone’s Health & Safety
Due to the nature of shelter work, most pets who come into our care have little to no information on their behavioral or medical history. Because of their mysterious past, there is no way for LHS to guarantee the health of foster pets. We don't want to risk the transmission of parasites or diseases to your pets or ours. Many diseases have an incubation period ranging from a few days to a few weeks and are undetectable at initial exams. Since parasites are so common for shelter pets, all cats & kittens are given de-wormer and anti-parasitic, but if they have a heavy infection they may need additional medication. While adult pets are vaccinated upon intake, we cannot start vaccinations for serious feline diseases like Panleukopenia until kittens are one month old. These early vaccines are helpful, and do increase their immunity but are not fully effective without the appropriate boosters.
Studies have shown that separation as simple as a door is adequate in preventing the spread of disease between fosters and resident pets. Foster families are encouraged to practice basic sanitation between interactions, by simply washing their hands with soap and hot water and changing clothes if they are soiled with feces or snot. We cannot provide outside veterinary care even if your foster transmits the illness to your resident pet. At a minimum, before LHS staff can approve underage pets to meet others, the foster pet must complete a 14-day quarantine, pass a physical exam, be FELV negative, and their fecal sample test must be negative for parasites.
The second reason underage fosters must be kept separate from resident pets is physical safety. We must reduce the risk of injury or conflict with resident pets and fragile kittens. This is especially true with pregnant moms or those nursing their young because their instinct is to protect their babies from all real or perceived threats. We do not want conflicts between your pet and the mother for their physical safety, but also due to the stress this puts on the mother. Feline mothers feel threatened when an unfamiliar animal is near their babies, and this added stress can have an impact on their ability to care for their babies. Lastly, pets should be kept separate due to any size difference and the fragile nature of kittens and adult pets. A well-meaning dog who is very friendly could very easily injure a fragile kitten without intent to harm. At no time whatsoever should an underage kitten be left unsupervised with resident pets.