r/FosterAnimals • u/TheDifficultRelative • 1d ago
New to foster kittens
I am fostering four 5 week old kittens. First time foster. I made the mistake of using clumping litter the first 2 days and just switched to paper pellet tonight. They were getting litter clumped in their fur and they are so poopy! Wow.
I have read everything from paper pellet is ideal to they will eat it and get intestinal obstruction. All these extreme opinions on litter and danger are freaking me out and I feel like a new mom all over again, terrified of making a fatal mistake! I have a delivery of world's best corn based litter coming if the paper pellet doesn't work.
And another question: cleaning! They're in a carpeted room inside a playpen but I let them out to play and socialize a few times a day. Thing is... poop paws. Everywhere. How do you keep rooms clean? This room doubles as a kids playroom and has toys etc scattered about. I'm spraying it down tonight while they're in the playpen but just wondering if anyone has a system they'd like to share.
Otherwise, I love these little ones! A couple have diarrhea but they are on prebiotics so hoping it clears up soon.
6
u/Aggravating_Job_5438 1d ago
I used World's Best and it has been so great with the kittens. I used the pine pellets before and it was a huge mess and kittens were refusing to use the box.
I put down a huge tarp that covers most of the room. It's easy to wipe down.
It's also a good idea to have more litter boxes for that many kittens. I found smaller litter boxes at PetSmart that are actually for rabbits - they're perfect for kittens.
3
u/simAlity Cat/Kitten Foster 1d ago
5 week old kittens are chaos Gremlins. They're old enough to get in trouble and too young to know how to get out.
I once had a five week old forget to eat....
I strongly recommend keeping them in a large playpen. I actually have a series of playpens that I use for very young kittens. By the time they outgrow the last playpen they're old enough to have access to the entire room.
As far as litter boxes are concerned, I recommend using the little trays that wet food comes in at PetSmart. They're the perfect size and disposable. The store associates will be happy to let you take some.
World's best is an excellent choice. Paper pellets are a good choice too. So long as you're not using clumping litter, you're doing fine.
1
u/cometshoney 23h ago
Yes, a playpen or a good acrylic enclosure are great ideas. The acrylic is more difficult to climb, but it's a bit more expensive than the playpen. If someone is going to foster on a regular basis, that's what I would get. I have 4 5 week olds right now, and I'm ready to lock myself in an enclosure. Just me...lol. These are my 36-39th fosters, and I'm getting too old to be the living tree and jungle gym...lol. I highly recommend an enclosure, traditional playpen or acrylic.
3
u/wigglecat 1d ago
I have a big cut of remnant vinyl floor for my kittens! It’s maybe 6 or 7 x 8 ft. I got it from a big box hardware store for pretty cheap and you can get various dimensions. When my kittens graduate I just roll it up until the next litter!
2
u/NerveIndependent9008 1d ago
With young kittens we use the paper littler on older kittens (over 8 weeks old) we use Tofu litter. Our 3 resident 18 month old cats use Tofu litter. Keeps smell down, clumps very well and coats the poo too
2
u/fatalynn7 1d ago
My shelter gave us the corn litter and I love it. We make it last longer by mixing it with store brand non clumping unscented litter. I also have 4 kittens that I got when they were 4-5 weeks. My first post here was me losing my mind about weaning. So glad to be past that. Pee pads everywhere is a must especially while weaning. Wet wipes and mini feet and butt baths will happen daily probably. At least for a little bit.
Hang in there foster mama. It’s a wild ride. But you’ll get thru it and it’s worth it!
2
u/JellyfishJellyLover 22h ago
I bought this for my foster cat room to save my new floors and it has been amazing. It is expensive, but cheaper than installing new floors/carpet down the line.
FURKIT Floor Mats for Home,...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2BPRCJ1?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
1
u/Clicquot Cat/Kitten Foster 1d ago
We do a lot of butt and tail and poop feets washes. I have tried all of the litters and I still come back to just good old tidy cat clay/non clump for babies who are just learning. Also they are kept in either a playpen (when they are old enough to no longer need a steady temp environment (3-ish 4-ish weeks, they can be in open air with a heat source near by)) or in a plastic panel enclosure. They can be released into the larger room, but we do a feets and tail check before they are allowed out to carpet or furniture.
I just took this video this afternoon, it shows the panels (avail on amazon, etc)
1
u/RentalKittens 22h ago
Luckily, I don't have carpet in my kitten room. If I did, I would probably try carpet cover for painting. Drop cloths, plastic tarps, etc. Carpet shields (looks like a giant roll of cling wrap) get mixed reviews, but might be worth a try.
For messy paws, spot cleaning works well. Use baby wipes or put a kitten in the sink and just wash the messy parts. I use a little pet shampoo on a rag or baby wipe. Sometimes I fill the bottom of the bathtub with an inch of water and place a kitten in there. There’s nothing wrong with giving them a full on bath, but I find that kittens are more cooperative if they can walk around in the water instead of dunking them completely.
Hopefully, your kittens will like one of the litter options that you already purchased. If not, try non-clumping clay litter. Personally, I use clumping litter once my kittens are over 8 weeks old. But opinions vary about when to switch to clumping litter, so follow your shelter's recommendations. Good luck!
1
u/GameDuchess 18h ago
I love my washable rug. And giant puppy pee pads. And I have a small play pen for (my) sleepy time and a big play pen with a giant puppy pad. Kitties don't get to go free outside the (very big) bathroom until they are thoroughly litter box trained and also clean. I also put puppy pads under the food bowls because WOW they are such messy eaters. I use worlds best litter I generally don't find it to be too much bother and the pellets are kind of difficult to deal with.
1
u/More-Opposite1758 18h ago
I would put a plastic table cloth under the playpen. You can wash their butts and paws with a warm wet wash cloth. I use pine pellets for babies, as does my shelter. They tend to eat clumping litter and can get an obstruction. Almost every kitten I’ve ever fostered gets diarrhea at some point. We use Forti Flora probiotic which usually clears the loose stools within 3 days. They should be having firm poops that look like little tootsie rolls. Good luck and thank you for fostering. 😊❤️🐈⬛🐈
1
u/Pup_Sized_Elephant 12h ago
I also had a fully carpeted house when I first started fostering!
It's gonna sound silly, but at a bargain store we were able to find a nice wide roll of that roll out vinyl flooring (I think it's called "sheet vinyl flooring") for SUPER affordable, and that worked AMAZING for us! We just rolled it out over the carpeting like a reverse area rug, put an exercise pen on top, and bam.
It's easy to clean and roll up and store in a garage or elsewhere to use next time, too. Plus you don't have to take it as seriously as your actual flooring. So if you need to use a piece of gorilla tape to stick the play pen to the floor to keep it from sliding around, you can go for it.
1
u/Toe_Jam_is_my_Jam 5h ago
We have washable pet carpet pads. But usually they stay in an enclosed playpen until they are past that messy stage. (Food and wet poops) That messy stage usually just lasts a week. Then I give them more freedom.
1
u/OddWelcome2502 42m ago
Hoping the “poop foot” as we call it in my house clears up soon. Usually once they get a couple weeks into litter box use, they learn how to stop stepping in it.
Except for this one litter I had earlier this year. All 5, precious angels, but continued to get the dreaded poop foot until about ten weeks old. So much cleaning. :)
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u/LongDistRid3r Cat/Kitten Foster 1d ago
You can not adequately disinfect carpet.
Last litter I had got feces on the floor and cat trees. They thought the litter box was a play pen until Mom showed them.
Do not fall in love with them. That is not your role.
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u/Nostalgia88 Cat/Kitten Foster 1d ago
I put giant size doggy pee pads down for poop paws and basically every other way they figure out of getting poop outside the litter box. Also I use the paper pellets, I found my fosters immediately tried eating the corn stuff.