LHS Foster Portal

As a nonprofit organization, LHS operates based on donations. We can always provide foster families with the pets’ medical care and treatments, and basic supplies like food and litter. In order to retain our inventory, essential and lifesaving supplies like heating pads or scales will be signed out to fosters and must be returned. There is a large variety of specialty supplies we are happy to provide if we have it available and you are willing to come to pick it up from the Center for Pets. After collecting the basics from LHS many fosters choose to provide some of the kittens' food or other supplies, while others come by the center weekly for a refill.

If you want to be prepared for taking home kittens check out this chart for some of the items you may need. Many of them could be already found around your house! If you are interested in getting some supplies of your own, check out Dollar Tree for cheap supplies!

Orphan Kittens (Under 4 weeks)

Bedding, large and hand towels, blankets, etc.
Bottle & Supplies
- Miracle Nipples
- Syringes
Formula
Bowls
Incubator
Kitchen scale
Heating pad or heating disk
Baby wipes

Queen’s Nursing Kittens, Weaning and Weaned Kittens 4 Weeks+

Bedding, large and hand towels, blankets, etc.
Whelping box for nursing queens
Appropriate kitten food
Bowls
Litter box & scoop
Kitten safe litter
Kitten safe toys
Kitchen scale
Heating pad or heating disk

Advanced Supplies

Baby wipes
Flea comb
Hairdryer
Thermometer
Nasal aspirator or dropper
Rescue cleaner

If you do not have a crate or kennel that will fit the size foster pet you would like to bring home, LHS can try to provide one for you on a loan basis. Just ask Foster Program team members if they can supply you with one.

Ceramic or stainless-steel dishes that will not tip over easily will work best for your foster pet. If possible, use glass or metal bowls for wet food and water, as plastic bowls are porous & not as easy to clean. Paper plates work well and are easily disposed of after messy meals! Clean all food dishes or bottles with hot soapy water.

Make sure the water and food bowls are shallow enough that a cat can reach the food and water, and not deep enough that a kitten can get inside and drown. Be sure to have enough bowls for the size of your litter, you do not want kittens fighting over food or water. We recommend one bowl per kitten for food bowls.

Make sure toys are kitten-safe! Try upcycling cardboard boxes into fun forts and hides. You may already have various balls, just make sure they are large enough that the kitten cannot swallow them (ex: ping pong balls). Stuffed toys like mice are great! Just make sure they do not have small plastic pieces that can be chewed off by kittens.

Feather toys & fishing pole-type toys can be used with supervision, as swallowing or tangling in the string or feathers is dangerous. Never leave kittens unattended with toys that have string, rope, feathers other type of pieces that can be chewed off and consumed. It is unsafe for kittens to play with plastic bags, yarn/string/ribbon, Catnip, or your hands!

It is helpful to have extra bedding (blankets, towels, old sheets, etc.) on hand before you bring your foster pet home. LHS can supply you with bedding when it is available, but it is always helpful to have some on hand because your foster will need their bedding changed any time it becomes soiled. Bedding can include items such as old throw blankets, old towels, old sheets, or old bathmats. Kittens & cats like to nest, so try placing bedding into a shallow box, pan, or tray so that kittens may snuggle into bedding in a nest-like manner.

Kittens need access to a small shallow litter box for using the bathroom. For ease of cleanup, we recommend a scoop or sifter to remove dirty litter from the box. At LHS we use non-clumping pine pellet litter, but other natural and non-clumping litters can be used that are also kitten-safe. The presence of quartz silica in clumping litter is extremely dangerous if ingested by small kittens. Do not use clumping litter until the kitten is over 4 months old.

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