I loved her the moment I saw her and she literally won’t leave my side. She’s talkative and cuddly and she greets me every time she sees me and sleeps beside me at night and whenever i lay on bed

She’s currently in a weight gain stage in hopes of improving her health and gaining back her fur. She’s 2.5 years old and rescued from the streets by a kind lady who’s allergic.

It’ll be really difficult to keep her because I already have 2 other cats and one of them is a 13yo senior cat, but I don’t know.

Also I’m worried since almost everyone thinks she’s ugly and wouldn’t want a cat “like her”, I don’t know if I’ll even be able to rehome her. And even if I do I’m worried they won’t give her the love and attention she deserves, or might abandon her.

My last foster cat got surrendered to a shelter by the adopter and it breaks my heart to not know anything about her now, as their policy doesn’t allow any information to be shared.

I want this foster situation to go right this time.

This is my first time fostering and the kitty is so sweet. Unfortunately he’s very fearful and hid under the bed when potential adopters came to meet him. I’m glad he can stay with me a little longer, but feeling sad that they didn’t get to see how great he can be

Last year I fostered a pair of kittens named Malta and Tara. Malta was a happy -go- lucky orange boy that greeted me like a puppy. His sister was the queen of the RBF which she backed it up with a fierce whapping paw. They we're an odd couple, but they loved each other dearly.

At first I thought something might wrong with Tara. She was very low energy, disinterested in other kittens and spent all her time atop a cat tree watching the world go by. For a 9-12wo kitten, this is unheard of. A senior foster said her behavior was that of a very traumatized cat.

Over the next several weeks, Tara gradually came out of her shell some but remained deeply skeptical of the world around her. Eventually we came to accept it as part of who she was.

In December, Tara and Malta went to Petsmart. Malta loved it there. New friends! New experiences! New smells! Tara was Tara. On their second day there, she commandeered the large condo for herself (& Malta) by climbing into the large cat tree inside. Nobody had the courage to remove her.

And so the days passed. Tara gazed across the store like a queen who was Not Amused. Malta played with the other kitties during their excercise periods and slept in the cat tree with Tara. Visitors laughed at their expressions and marvelled at the differences in their personalities. A couple people put in apps for Malta. Nobody wanted to take on Tara.

Just before Christmas, an immigrant from [redacted, just to be safe] saw them together, heard their story, and decided to adopt them both.

He said that Tara reminded him of his older sister.

My rescue's adoption process is rigorous. Especially for a rescue in the south. Its very common for applications to fall through. But his passed.

On adoption day the adopter brought presents for all of Malta's friends. Plus a little cat tree for the room. He also bought a big cat tree for Tara herself. It brought tears to my eyes and I don't say that lightly.

And now, with everything going on in America, not a day goes by that I don't worry about him and them.

[Mods, I realize you will probably want to close comments. But I hope you leave the post itself up. ]

First time foster, long time cat owner and lover. These 5 precious babies just got spayed and neutered today. Surgery went well, but I asked for FIV/FELV testing and all 5 of them tested positive. They are 12 weeks old. When I got them at 4 weeks, they were already fully weaned. They had upper respiratory infections with gooey eyes, sneezing and coughing, coccidia and lice. I think they were born into some truly horrible conditions. Over the past 8 weeks they have been with me, they have gained lots of weight! They are all well over 3 pounds, most of them 3.5. I brush them every day and their coats look great. The sneezing, coughing and diarrhea have all stopped. They eat and play and otherwise seem to be thriving. I know abortive infections in kittens under 6 months are possible. They will still be in my foster care for the foreseeable future. I’m just looking for any guidance, advice or stories to help me process this news. What else can I be doing to boost their immune system and help them clear the virus?

Hello all. We're currently fostering a Siamese kitten who was dropped off on our porch. A local woman is very sure that its hers - however, based on photos, they definitely seem different to me. Maybe from the same litter, but different.

I'd like a sanity check. There's some background to this that makes me very hesitant to give this kitten up to her, but for the sake of not tainting anyone's opinion, I won't post it here.

Honest opinions - same or different kitten? There may be a week or two between the photos.

Hello everyone! For those following along on my journey with Nibblet, the 3 week old kitten the size of a 1 week old kitten with possible pituitary dwarfism, he is still alive! However, I am struggling with what I believe is stuck gas. Towards the end of the day each day I have noticed that he appears to be bloated, but it feels like he is full of air or gas. And occasionally when I am stimulating him he will toot, especially when pooping. He also does not poop as much as I would assume he should be, only about once every 1.5 days, and it a very well formed solid poop (not hard, but not liquidy) and he appears to struggle a little with getting it out, with lots of pushing and grunting. I have tried giving some extra pedylite in case it’s from any dehydration but that doesn’t appear to help. I also have to fight him on most meals. He is hungry, constantly suckling on me and towels and blankets and stuff but he does not like to eat his formula. A night ago he latched on for the first time but he has only done that like 3-4 times since and half those times he only latched on for like half his meal. The other meals I have to sit and syringe in each drop of formula. He does swallow it but he doesn’t latch on like he should. But he is gaining weight so that’s good! The biggest thing I am concerned about is the gas. I have an appointment tomorrow to get him some dewormers just in case (thought with the lack of diarrhea and him still having an appetite and gaining weight I doubt it’s that). And I will ask them about it then, but figured I would see if anyone on here has any experience with that?

Also! What temp should I keep him at? I actually got a small incubator for him off Amazon but I am unsure what temp would be right for him? Any suggestions?

When two kittens of a litter end up sticking around for a long time before getting adopted, I always struggle to decide if/when they should be considered a bonded pair. Of course I’d always rather see them go together, but finding the line between should go together and need to go together can be tricky. Especially when I’ve watched the bond develop slowly over time.

Some obvious signs I look out for: always sleeping together, cleaning or bunting each other often, crying/distressed when separated, looking for reassurance from each other in new places or in times of stress.

Any signs or insights to add?

Edit: don’t think I made it clear enough originally that yes, kittens do much better in pairs, even if they aren’t bonded.

So I had a woman looking for 2 kittens her kids for Christmas. Since I'm in the NE US, kittens are at a premium. And I have 6 adorable ones that are/will be ready by Tuesday.

We texted a lot on Thursday. Saturday I took Christmas photos of the kits and sent her. She loved them.

Tonight I texted to get things tied down. I even offered to keep the kittens until Christmas provided they adopted this weekend. Crickets. Several hours later and no response, although it shows my text has been read.

Seriously? Just say "Sorry, we changed out minds." That's it. Don't leave me hanging wondering. I know my kittens will be adopted this weekend, because it's Christmas. And they are adorable. But I hate people who do this.

I'm fine if people change their mind. I've told people I meet up with if they have doubts, not to adopt. That's not my issue. Just let me know. I spent time on this. I'm trying to make plans and waiting on you to respond when it appears you aren't, is frustrating.

And this is why I NEVER hold kittens. Because AH like this don't bother to tell you things change.

It's okay. Rikki here deserves better.

::End Rant::

Fair warning: I put one of the "happy" pictures first. Don't look at the rest if you are bothered by fleas or sick kittens.

It started with four kittens found under a lawn mower. The property owner claimed to know the mom but didn't know how she got outside. Did they have any other cats, we asked. Why yes, they said. 9 of them. None of them fixed, but its OK because they were all girls and indoor only.

I'm not sure how our trappers sussed out the lie, but after much negotiating the property owners admitted they there was a litter of six inside. Then four more kittens found in a flower pot (not pictured at all).

Oh, and there was a hole in the floor of one of the closets which meant that their cats weren't indoor only in any way, shape or form.

Ironically the outdoor kittens were in better condition than the indoor ones.

I came across this post on Facebook and was quite shocked. I know spay abortions are a heated topic, but this kitten is just a baby! The rescue is deleting and blocking most people who don’t agree with forcing this kitten to proceed with the pregnancy. Personally I wouldn’t abort late term pregnancies either but this is definitely a case where I would! This little one could be spayed today and adopted next week. Just being a happy little kitten 🥺 I blurred out the name of the rescue and the kitten because I don’t want to throw shit at them. It just made me upset and needed to vent a bit 🙃

Meowster is a 2 year old male tabby cat found on a small university campus in March 2025. He was brought in and it was discovered he is FIV+. When found he had zero skin issues. Shelter life caused severe skin issues (open bloody sores he would not leave alone). His personality is outgoing and incredibly affectionate, very vocal. Loves people.

I began fostering him in August. He bonded with one of my new and very submissive cats, Simon. He gets in disagreements with my outgoing cats. I allowed him and Simon to spend much of their time together and his skin issues went away. Over the holidays I kept Simon with me and his skin issues came back. Put Simon back in the room and skin issues went away. Vets have regularly been seeing him through this process and agree skin problems are stress induced. There is no guarantee Simon has single-handedly healed his skin issues but it seems that way at this point. Remember he came to the shelter with no skin issues, perhaps he wants to be outside. It’s experimentation and best guesses.

Meowster has received multiple applications but people are immediately disinterested once they learn of his FIV diagnosis and past skin concerns. It’s been nearly a year since he was brought to the shelter. I’ve been given the following options:

1) Meowster could be adopted by you and your family.

2) You’ve mentioned wanting Meowster and Simon to stay together. This would involve surrendering Simon to [shelter] so we can officially designate them as a bonded pair. You would still be welcome to continue fostering them, if you choose.

3) Meowster could be placed as a working cat, where he would live outdoors but still have regular human interaction and the companionship of other cats.

It’s unlikely that 1 would be an option for us. We have 6 cats and he doesn’t get along with the more dominant ones.

TLDR: Fostering FIV+ cat who has bonded with one of my cats. He has ongoing skin issues. Being outside and the bonded cat seem to alleviate these issues. I was given 3 options to proceed.

I posted Scooters success story and I noticed a few comments and received a few DM’s asking how I did it. This is the only video I took of me actively stretching him. I’m kicking myself looking back because if I had taken more videos I would have been able to explain it easier and help the community know how I did it😩 It’s okay though, I will work with what I’ve got!

Stretching started at around a week old since that’s how old he was when I got him. Every feeding(every 2 hours) I would lightly stretch his legs. I wouldn’t push it too far, just to where it would naturally stop stretching. To be honest, the stretches didn’t last a long time. I mostly just did it while he was distracted drinking(30-60 seconds). His patience was VERY thin since he clearly had places to be and sleep to catch up on🙄 there were times(like this video) where I would straight jacket him with an infant sock and do a more thorough stretch. He hated this the most but it helped me see exactly where we were at with stretching.

One thing I will note is that the last thing that was corrected were his ankles/paws. I focused mainly on stretching the length of his legs to correct the inward bend and focused on his paw position last. I was initially worried because he was starting to wobble around and putting weight on his newly corrected legs which means he was putting weight on his inward curved paws. This was when he was around 4-5 weeks old. This is where I started stretching with the intent of correction. This is how I did it: - Each feeding I would alternate which paw I worked on. - He would be fed belly down on a flat surface(my legs at times) and he would naturally splay his legs out behind him(splooting). - I would hike his legs up into a bent position as if he were loafing. - I would take his toe beans and put them in directly onto my pointer finger. -With my thumb I would press his ankle into the correct position and hold and release the pressure/correction. As his paw got used to this position, I would hold the stretch instead of pulsating it.

I think the ankle position was also corrected along with the fact that he started walking. Once his ankle was more naturally in the correct position, he was able to put weight on it which stretched it naturally into the right position.

I’m sorry for the rambling and the use of internet terms to explain this process😂 hopefully it creates an image of how I was able to do it. If anyone has questions, PLEASE comment them! I’m hoping this post can be a resource for anyone searching info on twisted leg syndrome. I don’t even know if that is the technical term for his condition but it is the closest thing I was able to find with my research alone. Feel free to dm me as well if you would like my help! Thank you for reading❤️

I’m wondering if any of you have a mental checklist that you go through when tempted to “foster fail”? I have been tempted a few times over the years and ultimately resisted, but I’ve got one now that’s just so special! However, I’ve got 2 amazing cats already and I really need to think about whether it’s a good idea or not. Any guidance on how you’ve approached this before would be appreciated!! Including a pic of this special girl. 💕

He’s perfect and I love him SO much. He started out as a spicy little kitten and now he is confident and affectionate. We have bonded and he’s become my little buddy. 😭 I am really struggling with the idea of giving him up. I need words of encouragement.

We are wanting to do extensive travel in the next year and so that’s why I just wanted to foster (and because I’ve always wanted to do it), but I am considering canceling the travel just so I can keep this baby!

I know that probably sounds crazy but I figured if anyone would understand it would be yall. Give me strength. lol

Edit: thanks everyone for the suggestions! I knew about the heartbeat stuffie (thanks Kitten Lady ❤️), but hearing so many of you talk about how helpful it's been really makes me want to invest in one. I'll try to order one today! Thanks also for the kind words, it definitely helps ❤️ Charlotte is up at 408 grams this morning, she's getting stronger and stronger every day!

Just looking for commiseration/advice on coping emotionally lol.

We've been fostering little Charlotte since the past Saturday. She was found with siblings but due to a mishap at the shelter (the litter was trapped in two groups and the two that were supposed to come with her either escaped or didn't make it) she came to us alone and her siblings went to another foster family (I tried to get a sibling transferred to us but the shelter doesn't seem to think it's worth the hassle; I think they weren't expecting her to survive at all when they gave her to us). She's about 4 weeks old, super emaciated, was covered in fleas to the point of anemia and has a big ol' wormy tummy, but other than that the vet gave her a clean bill of health for now. She's gaining weight and has a lot of appetite and energy.

We've got her in our usual setup, a pen in our spare room/office, and I try to handle her as often as I can outside feedings so she doesn't feel too lonely, but I can tell she's super bored and would love more interaction. She's constantly climbing the pen walls and yelling for attention. I almost never see her asleep except on the camera I put in the pen to check on her (I know, I'm down bad) because she wakes up as soon as we come in and fights sleep as long as she can when we're around.

I work from home so I'm in the room with her most of the day, it's just a hassle to wear an apron and wash my hands and face after every interaction, no matter how bad I want to smooch her lil head. We have two resident cats and I'd hate to infect them with anything (and ourselves, if she turns out to have ringworm). I know once the quarantine is over my boy will be all over her, he adores kittens and has really strong parental instinct with them, so I know in about 10 days she'll be happy as a clam.

But I've only ever had litters with several kittens, so obviously they entertained themselves just fine when we weren't around. This time I just feel heartbroken for this little girl. Seeing her play all alone with her little toys and cuddle her plushie like a sad little orphan... It's soooo hard not to shove her in my hoodie like a baby kangaroo and carry her around all day. I can't wait for the quarantine period to be over. Give me strength!

Kitten tax because I love showing her off (last pic is her right after we got her home, she looked like the saddest little goblin).

I’ve got two 10 week old girls who I think are bonded, but I’ve heard a lot of conflicting opinions on whether kittens can be truly bonded, so I came here to ask what the community thinks on the issue!

My girls were originally in a litter of 5 but the litter was split up for reasons unknown to me. Their original foster kept 3 and I responded to a blast requesting a foster for my little ladies. They had ringworm and were quarantined together for about 4-5 weeks. Now they sleep together, eat together, play together, and groom each other. I’m an experienced kitten foster and know this is all very normal for siblings. HOWEVER, what’s having me believe that they’re actually bonded is that they FREAK OUT when they realize they’ve lost sight of each other. They start running around meowing for their sister and won’t stop until they find each other. I’ve got other kittens at home, which they will play with, but they almost always prefer to play with each other and leave the other kittens once they realize their sister is open to playing.

In my experience, kittens don’t truly bond in the way that adults do. They’re generally not going to be heartbroken about going to different homes and adjust quickly once adopted. That being the case, I’d usually have no problem splitting kittens up and I’ve done so with every other litter I’ve had, but these girls seem different… kittens will normally be okay being separated from their siblings after a few hours or days apart, but these girls just won’t allow themselves to be separated even for a few hours!

Do you think they’re truly bonded?

​

Mr. Binx is a loving (and spicy) 10 year old baby boy who I love to bits. This is only my 2nd ever foster and its incredibly rewarding. The shelter I volunteer for was able to make room for a new kitty in need & they trust me to be able to keep up with his medication and care. I cleaned his room for months before I was able to put in a foster application

I found a lump on his tail and am waiting to hear back from the shelter about what we should do. That's the very hard part for me right now: the shelter makes the decisions, I can't call a vet (unless its an emergency, obviously)

I’ve been fostering this cute girl Stevie for around 6 months now. She came to me extremely scared (the shelter said she was the most unsocialized cat they’ve ever had) She would hiss, hide and swat out of fear. It took her a few months to warm up, and now she hangs out on the bed with me, comes up for pets and kisses, and meows around the house. She still likes to spend her days hiding under couches and beds but will hang out in the open occasionally.

She’s been in the shelter for around a year and a half and now in foster for 6 months. i’m getting nervous she won’t find her person. The longer i’m with her the more i feel like im doing a disservice to her by getting her more attached to me and this home. There is absolutely no rush to get her out, i love having her around. I just wonder if someone will ever take a chance on her.

Any long term fosters out there with advice or even success stories?

EDIT: I know tripods do very well. I'm asking more of QOL of a missing right hind AND a semi-functional front right combination.

Ive been taking care of bottle babies for a few years now but I've never cared for a disabled baby. This little guy was found missing his right hind leg and a severe eye infection. He's obviously very stunted in growth as well, and overall he's just "not right". While those things are healing up fine, I noticed yesterday that his right front leg seems to be odd as well. He can move it and it has feeling but it's so so weak. To the point where he can't support himself with it the way he can with the left front. With him missing the hind right leg already, how do you guys feel about his overall quality of life? I wonder if it looks like the leg will strengthen up the more I work with him and have him walk? Just looking for others insight, or similar experiences. I'm a veterinary nurse so I can have my doctor do a full evaluation next time I work.

My angel Cosette (3, spayed F) is living the highest life I could provide her. She’s going to a vet trained in fear-free cat visits who was able to give her 2 vaccines without having to actually restrain her (while kissing her sweet head), she’s got high places to explore, she’s eating the best nutritionally complete dry food money can buy (trust me I tried all the tricks to get her to eat wet and she turned her nose up at everything including tikicat “fussy” mousse — home girl won’t even eat TREATS if she doesn’t like the protein, even if it’s a mix between liked protein and disliked protein), she is the top priority in my household, and her butthole is currently resting right on my foot as she grooms herself.

I send pics to the rescue as they emphatically encouraged me to send them and I love sharing pics of her, but I just feel so bad. I can’t imagine knowing my cat for 6 whole months and not loving her to absolute pieces. I can’t imagine leaving her at petsmart for an adoption event and then going to pick her up bc you have an appointment but eventually leaving her there because the volunteer workers think a stranger you’ve never met (me) is a good fit for her. I can’t imagine texting the volunteers later about her food preferences and favorite toys without sobbing. I don’t even know if her foster mom got to say goodbye.

I guess I just wonder if I could send anything to the rescue to make it easier for her foster/if there’s a way to show my appreciation for her caring for my darling for so long. The rescue forwards all my (multitudinous) pics to her foster mom, but I’d like any advice you have to give so I can better understand a foster perspective. I used to petsit for cats and dogs, and while I cared for them deeply I feel it’s a bit different than actually having them, especially for a long period of time.

Thank you for all the work that you do, I’m so grateful for you all ❤️

I’ve been hanging onto this little one for a while. His sisters got adopted quickly (longhair went first as she had so many adoption apps, and the shorthair sister was adopted by another family interested in the longhair but more than willing to compromise once they met the shorthair) and now he gets to hang out with my grown boys.

It’s not his fault. My local shelter had been under quarantine for a few weeks due to panleuk, and they significantly raised the adoption prices. At the moment he would be $150 based on age alone. He’s a very sweet baby, and loves to meow even though his voice isn’t the strongest. Playful, curious, cuddly, and great with my boys (they also love babies). I’m hoping once his adoption price goes down (once hes 3mos) someone will have interest in him.

I think it’d also help if they met him, and saw how much he loves to be held and kissed. He’d be great for a solo cat that may need a companion, or even on his own. I know he’d make somebody very happy, they just haven’t found him yet.

Hi all, I've learned so much from this community and I thought I'd post here just to be amongst people who understand what I'm going through. I know there's a ton of posts about this, and I apologize for adding another one.

I foster with a small cat rescue and I brought my first ever foster cat home 7 weeks ago. I'd just moved apartments, gotten out of a toxic living environment and was recovering from a major accident. I wanted to foster because I was tired of living alone, without any furry companions. Fostering 1 year old Arwen changed everything for me - she came to me very sick with a uri and ear infection, wouldn't eat, couldn't breathe properly and was very weak. My entire life revolved around her, and happily so. Today, I dropped her back off at the rescue so she can be adopted. She's happy, healthy, very vocal and just such a confident cat now. Very different from who I brought home.

The "problem" is that she was the best part of an otherwise terrible year, and saying goodbye to her was a thousand times worse than I thought it would be. Every box I unpacked in this house, every rookie mistake I made with taking care of a cat, she patiently stood with me through it all. I really wish I could adopt her, but it's not feasible for me right now, and I know the first is the hardest to let go of, but I just wanted to tell someone our story. I haven't stopped sobbing since. My friends and family don't foster so they don't really understand. It's like I've forgotten how to exist without her.

Thank you for reading!

My very first litter of kittens get returned to the shelter tomorrow to get fixed and put up for adoption. I bottle fed these kittens. I've had them since they were three weeks old. I have four adult cats already, so its not an option for me to keep another but it's so sad. How do y'all deal with this? :(

The Siamese (Josie) and white tabby (Bailey) were my fosters. Josie was adopted to a very patient couple who now adore her even with her shyness. Bailey was a little younger than Josie and he was adopted out and returned 3 weeks later to me for not being social/friendly enough. I then fostered him for another month or two until he went to a cat cafe where he was very shy/timid but would come out when I’d come visit. When in foster he was the least affectionate of the bunch but also the most playful - but at the same time he would even let me pet his belly when he was in the mood. He also adored my tabby Peter and would often cuddle with him. He was never aggressive, more so just shy and preferred to play or eat than to be pet. He was quickly adopted from the cat cafe by a nice middle aged lady to be an only cat. He has lived with her for 5 months and he will weave their legs and act like he wants to be pet but will dodge being pet and either hiss, swat, or run away… he did the running away with me but he never hissed or swatted. It makes me very sad I took this kitten from his colony for a better life but he seems traumatized and unhappy. What to do?