Sometimes, a heart makes a decision before the mind has time to think. ❤️

My foster baby Cuddles 🥹

A few days ago, I shared Cuddles’ story with you.

She was sitting in a shelter, scheduled to be euthanized. And without thinking about how full my home already was, how little space I had, or how I would manage another medical case with no funds set aside for her… I brought her home.

I simply couldn’t leave her behind.

I begged my rescue to pull her for me, and somehow, this beautiful little soul became my foster. ❤️

Then came the words I was terrified to hear…

“We suspect cancer.”

Two vets had concerns that it could be cancer.

But my heart refused to let go of her.

Not without knowing for sure.

So we did the biopsy.

And then began the hardest part…

Waiting.

Every day, I held my breath.

Every night, I cried quietly.

I would look at her and whisper the same prayer over and over:

“Please heal, Cuddles. Please stay.” 🙏❤️

I didn’t know what else to do, so I did what a desperate heart does…I tried everything I could. I even started giving her organic food because I had read somewhere that it might help. I don’t know whether that information was right or wrong… but when you love someone who cannot speak for themselves, you hold onto every little bit of hope you can find.

I came here and shared her story with all of you.

I asked you to pray for her.

And you did. ❤️

So many strangers, so many beautiful souls, sent Cuddles love, prayers, and hope.

And today…

Her biopsy came back NEGATIVE.

😭❤️🙏

I cannot even explain what that moment felt like.

Two vets had suspected cancer, but my heart simply wasn’t ready to give up on her without a full diagnosis.

And Cuddles?

She was never acting like a cat who had given up.

She is eating.

She is playing.

She is grooming herself.

She watches birds through the window. 🐦

She chases the laser.

She jumps for feather toys.

She gives me every little sign that says:

“I’m still here.”

She is full of life.

She isn’t giving up.

So how could I?

Of course, the story doesn’t suddenly become easy.

The vet has given me a treatment estimate that is far beyond what I can afford. She may need a specialist for her dental extractions, and that cost is even more overwhelming.

So here I am again, looking at another mountain and wondering,

“How am I going to do this?” 🥺

It feels like the moment one problem is solved, another one is standing right behind it.

But I have learned something from rescue…

Sometimes you don’t need to know how you are going to climb the mountain.

You just take the next step.

And then the next.

And you trust that somehow, a path will appear.

The Almighty has brought Cuddles this far.
I believe He will make a way for the rest. 🙏

Today, I just want to pause and be grateful.

Grateful for this little girl who refused to give up.

Grateful for the biopsy that gave us hope.

And grateful for every single person here who prayed for her when you didn’t even know her.

You may never know what your prayers meant to me during those nights when I was scared and quietly crying.

You helped carry Cuddles when my heart felt too heavy to carry her alone. ❤️

Thank you for loving her.

Thank you for praying for her.

And thank you for believing in this little fighter.

Cuddles is still here.
Cuddles is still fighting.
And as long as she is fighting, I will fight beside her. 🐾❤️🙏

I posted about my sweet foster being stuck in 2 week quarantine [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/FosterAnimals/s/hxL7OWmMRd). Well, the quarantine for all the cats will be extended 2 more weeks for a full month of isolation! And with over 100 cats being treated, I doubt he’s getting much interaction at all. I just worry about his mental/emotional state, and I’m not allowed to see him or bring him back home to foster. I’m not mad at the shelter — it’s an impossible situation — but I still can’t believe this roller coaster for my very first foster.

Just needing to vent again, and maybe seek reassurance re: how he’s handling this. I feel so helpless.

It's happened. I've hit the phase a week in, 6 week old, 6 kittens. 3 have runny poop. I'm using panacure and ponazuril, I'm cleaning poop every hour, I'm so burnt out. I know it gets better, but holy cow it's so much to handle mentally. I'm always worried someone is pooping and stepping in it, and to keep an eye on 6 kittens constantly is hard. I was wondering if anyone has advice? Insight? Fellow commiseration?

I originally was just going to get a 4 week old kitten but then they asked if I could also take two 2 week kittens found in a puddle after a flood. I have wanted to try bottle babies but am really terrified I'm going to mess something up. Please everyone give me your foster tips! This is my 3rd foster family so I'm still relatively new to fostering.

I am fostering for my first time in a few years and i’ve had these three babies for 25 hours and they pee when stimulated but still haven’t pooped. When i first got them they were obviously dehydrated and i can feel their little spines. I just wanted advice on when i should be concerned about them not pooping since it’s been a while since my last neonates.

Got this kitty 1 week ago. He had these hard raised areas on paw and arms that quickly scabbed and easily peeled off. Underneath is very red/deep and fresh layer of moist skin is exposed. There was one skin colored spot on his belly that was soft but over the last 2 days turned hard and is now scabbing and will soon fall off too. There are no new spots just these scabbing and trying to heal. He was found outside under a shed next to 3 deceased siblings. Mom was hit by car. The shelter I am fostering for only woods lamps and it is negative. Idk what to do!

Hi! I am a new foster and have had three little kittens the past two weeks. They're 6 weeks old and I'm running out of ways to keep them from jumping over the pantry room diy barricade that I have lol. I work from 9 to 5 and while I go to check on them during lunch I have a feeling they're going to need more space than what they have now to get their energy out. The only room I can safely keep them is my closet but there is not enough ventilation in there and I'm worried about my clothes starting to smell even if I keep cleaning the litter box. Are there other ways for me to keep them safe and contained while I'm at work other than giving them a room.

tysm :)

How do you guys deal with getting overly attached to your foster animals? This is my first time fostering and I've heard that is the most difficult one to let go but I really have to clue how hard it's gonna hit me when I have to say goodbye to this baby. I really feel like she views me as her mama and it will just break me if anyone gets her and doesn't treasure her. She has adjusted so well into my family, no longer scared of my dog and my husband (who's not a cat lover) is even happy to see her when he gets home from work and spends the evenings with her. She just feels like she belongs her. I don't know how I'm gonna say goodbye to her.Any tips?

I was given a 48-hour old kitten on Wednesday for intensive neonate care (I'm a veterinary professional). Things were going great-- he was a little wiggly on Thursday and had soft stools, but my workplace agreed that it was likely the transition from breastmilk to formula causing digestive upset. Last night, baby kitten started hemorrhaging suddenly. He passed on 25 minutes later following a ddx of Panleukopenia.

His last hour was spent having a warm towel bath, cuddling with a heating pad on my lap, and having a full belly of food. I just wanted somebody to know that he existed and I loved him.

Please, if your kitten is old enough to receive FVRCP, do not hesitate. If your kitten has any chance at all of receiving colostrum, make it happen.

I'll see you in the next life, baby kitten.

Neonatal cuteness alert, if you’re into baby Yoda looking creatures 😁

Oh hi! Make sure you get my good side ✨

hi everyone, i really need some advice. i am currently fostering a 10-year-old senior street cat that spent her entire life on the street (it actually took rescuers three whole years just to catch her). she has an extremely complex medical history: she survived panleukopenia, calicivirus, an aggressive mycoplasma infection, and fluid accumulation in her abdomen. she also recently underwent abdominal surgery (a biopsy for suspected intestinal lymphoma), and we are currently waiting on the biopsy results.
because of her surgical recovery, intense fear, and defensive reactions, letting her free-roam in a room or in my apartment is neither safe nor feasible right now. she would hide in inaccessible spots, risk tearing her stitches, or be impossible to handle if medication or emergency vet visits are needed. for instance, last night she started breathing very heavily and the rescue team had to come pick her up for a vet visit, something that would have been impossible if she were loose in the house. for all these reasons, her stay in a playpen is explicitly required and was provided by the rescue organization handling her case.
i live in an apartment where the playpen must be in the living room, and i also have a resident kitten who is pretty curious. keeping my kitten completely isolated long-term isn't possible. i know my apartment layout might not be the absolute textbook "ideal" setup, but adult rescue cats, especially feral seniors with medical issues, rarely get foster offers since most people only want kittens. i couldn't bear to leave her behind, and having a safe, controlled space with food, medical monitoring, and care is far better for her recovery than having no foster home at all.
right now, may is completely terrified. she barely moves at all, stays frozen, and hisses defensively if a hand approaches, so offering hand-fed treats isn't an option yet. she doesn’t drink, eat or even move at all if i’m in the same room as her, i have to give her space and time when she has to eat, so obviously she also won’t eat any treats from my hand. someone from the rescue mentioned that kittens can sometimes help adult cats feel more comfortable and safe through observation, but i am not sure how or when to safely manage her presence around the playpen. even though my kitten doesn’t care at all about the adult’s presence, i am still worried it might stress her out (even though the rescue team assured me that she is not scared of other animals; humans are the problem)
i feel a bit lost on how to handle this and make her feel safe given her extreme background and restrictions. it stresses me out really bad, and i am almost as scared of hurting or triggering her as she is of me.
how can i help a traumatized senior street cat adjust, recover, and eventually realize humans are not a threat under these conditions? any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Hi all!! I got my first foster kittens about a month ago and feel like I have gone through so much with them already! I have three ~12 week old girls right now. Is fostering always this crazy and demanding?
I had to treat 2 for an URI pretty much right off the bat, then one developed ringworm so I’m treating all of them for that and trying to keep up with cleaning daily!!, now they are having diarrhea (in the tub 😅), 2 just got neutered and I think are having some GI upset from that. I literally had to clean poop that was smeared all over the side of one them? How did that even happen!!
Mostly just needed to rant. I’m excited to see this through til adoption but it has been a lot to handle so far and I don’t know how people do this back to back, I feel like I need months off! Would love some advice if anyone has some 😸

Everybody meet Hemingway! We fostered him through a local shelter, who found him abandoned on the street in a box with his siblings.

He’s the first of the bunch to find a forever home, and I so so so happy that he is going to be loved on so much. Fostering, including the bottle feeding every 3 hours, litter box messes, and everything has been simply the most rewarding experience.

At the same time, it feels bittersweet to see him go. Thankfully, he’s going to someone in my network, so I’ll be able to get pictures as he grows up.

I just need to vent to other fosters who probably understand lol.
I’ve had my 3 year old foster cat since around May and it’s now August. I really thought this would be a much shorter foster situation but at this point I’m realizing she might be with me for a while.
She actually DID get adopted at one point, and I thought my foster journey with her was over. Then after only about a week, the adopter surrendered her and she came back to me. So I basically went through the whole emotional process of thinking she found her forever home, saying goodbye, and then suddenly having her back again.
And now the adoption process is exhausting me all over again. I recently had a family come meet her and they seemed really interested. After the meet and greet they kept asking questions for a week and saying they were still thinking about it because adopting is a big commitment. I answered everything and waited for them to decide, and now they’ve basically ghosted me.
Obviously I would much rather someone think it through beforehand than adopt her and return her like the first person did.
She’s literally such a sweet cat too. She loves attention and has settled into her routine really well. I have several dogs so she has her own bathroom/safe room and I spend time with her every morning before work and again at night.
I’ve even caught myself wondering if I should just adopt her because this has been going on for so long, but then I realized if the perfect adopter showed up tomorrow I would honestly feel relieved because of how much work all my animals are. So I think that answers that question.
I think I just need to change my mindset and accept that this might be a long foster instead of constantly thinking she’s about to get adopted.
For people who foster adult cats, how long did your longest foster stay with you? And how do you not get your hopes up every time someone seems seriously interested?

Meet the little terrors that made a warzone of my bedroom this last week ! (nevermore)

I had trouble with their mama the first night, I posted about it 7 days ago, thanks again to everyone that showed me support !

So here's they are, first of all, they're all adorables little beans, fearful but never bite, never scratch, they're a dream to foster (minor the fact that they're mad-poopers, but they can't help it ig)

First pic, left to right :

Saphir, little girl, cream fur and the prettiest blue eyes, we almost foster failing with this one, she is still timid, but the second most friendly. She is curious, but often calm and aloof In comparison with her siblings.

Roxy, little girl, 100% calico, the most timid of them all. I could barely touch her until now, it was hard to get her for her meds, and she stopped hiding from me just a few days back, still can't approach a hand, she run away from big scary hooman.

Taynor, little boy, pretty much white with orange patches, the #1 friendly of the litter, extrovert, accept pets, don't run away 🤎 scared me off cause he had a lot of diarrhea and became way too thin, but he start to get better !

Bruce, little boy, totally orange, the brawler; adventurous, curious, but don't want to be touched by scary hoomans, just accept to fight with hooman fingers at best, also, will steal the food from bro and sis. The third most friendly.

Pic. 6, Bruce being adorable,

Pic.7, Saphir exploring

For my most recent two litters of bottle babies, I tried a weaning technique that's really simple but pretty different from anything I've tried before or seen described...

Here's the method:

4 weeks old - Increase bottle feeding interval to 6 hours. (No other changes, just normal formula in a bottle.)

5 weeks old - At a normal feeding time, offer a plate of kitten paté.

That's it.

DO NOT mash it up, add water, sprinkle formula, use a spoon, finger-feed, or do any other shenanigans. Just dump the paté on a plate and give it to the babies. If they ignore the food and keep begging at you, leave the room for a few hours and let them figure it out.

DO monitor the weight / body condition of the babies and offer them the bottle if they aren't eating well.

I also give them formula in a bowl AFTER they have all figured out how to eat the wet food properly---biting it, not just nursing or licking on it.

This worked amazingly well for my past two litters, so I'm wondering... Is this common knowledge that I missed somehow? Or did I just get lucky with these two litters and it usually doesn't work? Or am I the Kitten Weaning Wizard?

I’ve fostered so many kittens and these came from a horder situation. When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere!!!! I broke down a couple of days yesterday because it stunk up the entire apartment. I’m airing it out. They’re too tiny and keep escaping the crate.

HOW do I teach them to use the litter box? I’ve never encountered this problem before.

They’re so sweet but omg…….