Welcome to the Urban Kitten’s foster club
What do I do when I first pick up my foster kittens?
Kittens can be taken directly to foster carers after rescue. This means they will probably need flea and worming treatment. Kittens need to be 500G or over if you are worming them with Milbermax or treating them with spot on flea treatments. We supply these and they can be picked up from Kingsford or can be mailed out to you.
Please DO NOT purchase them from the vet as they cost up to 3 times more than the price we purchase them for online.
For flea treatment kittens can have a bath in Fairy dishwashing liquid. Make sure the water is warm but not too hot and the kittens are dried well before returned to the crate. Small kittens have difficulty regulating their body temp so it’s a good idea to have a heat pack under a towel while they are still damp. Or place them under an igloo with some polar fleece inside.
If the kittens are under 500G and have diarrhoea or vomiting they will require Panacur for worming. We have a supply of this at Kingsford, so please let us know if the kittens show these symptoms.
If the kittens are sneezing, have nasal or eye discharge, diarrhoea, vomiting, seem listless or won’t eat, please contact us immediately as they will need to have a vet visit asap.
All vet appointments must be booked or approved by Tess or Lisa.
Feeding kittens
Kittens require special kitten food. We use Royal Canin Mother and Babycat . This is a highly nutritious food that also promotes weight gain. For kittens aged between 4-8 weeks it is important they are fed this formulated food to provide them the nutrients they desperately need in this formative stage of life. It can be watered down for very young kittens if you prefer.
If your kittens are not eating on their own they may need some help. Syringe feeding can be a good way to get them started and the Kitten Lady has a great video that demonstrates how this is done.
www.kittenlady.org/syringefeeding
You can syringe feed watered down Babycat or Di-vetalact Cat Milk replacer (please contact Tess if you need some of this). 4 week old kittens sometimes need to be reminded to eat so it’s important to get them up and eating every 4 hrs. If they are not doing this themselves they need a reminder through the night as well. They should get the hang of it after about a week but leave lots of food out for them over night if you are not getting up to feed them.
As the kittens get older they can also be fed the kibble form of Royal Canin mother and babycat, as well as other kitten foods. We recommend Blackhawk, Advance and Felix kitten.
You can also start mixing in a raw food called Barf, which is “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food”, this can be purchased from the freezer section of most pet food stores
How much should I feed the kittens? As much as they want.
If the kittens are gaining weight then they are eating enough. If they are not gaining weight, please contact us as they may need a vet visit.
All vets that we work with are listed on our foster agreement which can be viewed HERE. These are the only vets the kittens can be taken to.
Only in an emergency can kittens be taken to other vets. Please let us know of any emergency situation but also act in the best needs of the kitten.
Vets will provide a consult to assess the kittens and will also provide the necessary medication. DO NOT get flea and worming meds from the vet. We will supply these to you.
When your kittens are old big enough, we usually try to have them desexed, microchipped and given their first vaccination all in one visit. The acceptable weight for kittens ready to be desexed varies with each vet so please do not take your kitten for desexing if they are under the required weight.
AMS Kingsford – 1.5kg for all kittens
Matraville vet – 1.2 for males, 1.3 for females
West Blacktown – 1.2 males 1.3 females
West Ryde – 1.5
Maroubra Junction (MJ) Vet – 1.2 males, 1.3 females
Rockdale Vet Hospital – 1.2 males, 1.3 females
We also use Inner city Cat Hospital and Dr Paws at Artarmon. Please contact us for their acceptable desexing weights.
Vet Visits
Carers Kit
Playpen, crate or secure room: We advise all carers to start off the kittens in a playpen or crate. This makes it easier for you to toilet train, treat and socialise the kittens. We can supply a crate or playpen if needed (pick up Alexandria or Kingsford) or they can be purchased from Kmart along with bowls, litter trays and cat carriers (we can also loan these to you is necessary).
Food and Litter: We are one of the few rescues who offer to provide food and litter to our carers if needed. If you are able to purchase these yourselves it would be greatly appreciated and would allow us to have more funds for Vet work, which can be substantial if kittens are sick, and ultimately be able to rescue more kittens. However, if you cannot purchase them yourself these can be provided.
Scales: Every carer will need a set of kitchen scales to monitor the kittens weight.
Kmart and Target stock very cheap ones that work perfectly for this scenario.
F10 antiseptic veterinary disinfectant: can be picked up from us. You will need to bring an empty 500ml spray bottle to mix the solution in.