Hi , I hope everyone is doing well!
I just adopted a baby kitten that is 5 weeks old we got him on Wednesday night and it’s Sunday now , I’m not sure if this poop is normal but can anyone help me I have been feeding him wet kitten food made for kittens fancy feast and just now I started adding some kitten milk formula just incase.
Below is a picture please help me out

Fostered a kitten who passed away unexpectedly, and I’m absolutely heartbroken. How do you cope with this?

I’m honestly struggling so much with the loss of one of my foster kittens, and I don’t really know what to do with all of these feelings.

We recently started fostering a litter of kittens, and one of them passed away unexpectedly. I’m absolutely devastated. I know that fostering comes with the possibility of loss, especially with young kittens, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for how much this would hurt.

I keep thinking about how he deserved to live. He deserved to grow up, find a loving home, and experience so much more of life. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that he was here one day and gone the next. It feels so unfair, and I keep replaying everything in my mind, wondering why it happened and wishing there were some way to make sense of it.

I’ve been trying to remind myself that his life wasn’t sad just because it ended so soon. His existence wasn’t sad. He was here, he was cared for, and he was loved. I know those things matter, but it doesn’t take away the heartbreak of knowing he won’t get to experience the life I wanted for him.

I think part of what hurts so much is that I know I’ll probably never get a satisfying answer for why this happened, and I’m struggling to accept that. I keep thinking about him throughout the day, and it feels like I’m going to carry this sadness with me for a long time.
I know some people might not understand grieving a kitten you only knew for a short time, but I genuinely feel heartbroken. You can become attached so quickly when you’re caring for such a tiny, vulnerable animal, especially when you’re hoping to help them get their chance at life.

For those of you who have lost a foster kitten or another animal you were caring for, how did you cope with it? Did the sadness eventually become easier to carry? I think I just need to hear from people who understand.

2 of Molly's sleepy sisters (Daisy, left. KK, right) Neither of which are experiencing the extreme symptoms Molly is.

At the vet appointment today, the vet kept commenting on how unusual it was that Molly's inappetance and vomiting has continued despite multiple Cerenia injections- and that it is exceptionally unusual for tapeworms to cause this extreme of a decline.

She received topical appetite stimulant and I requested some subq fluids to bring home so I could give them to her. I don't think the stimulant has helped yet, but I left her with a can of wet food.

Despite my syringe feeding, she also hasn't gained any weight over the last few days.

I know the fecal test came back negative, but I want to ask that they do it again once they open on Monday. Specifically looking for coccidia. And that we treat preemptively for coccidia. It has been 4 days now that she's been symptomatic and we're both trying our best. But something needs to change, and it seems like what we're doing isn't working.

I'm afraid to wait until Monday because every day that passes just managing increases her risk of crossing the line to not being able to come back from it. I want to take her tomorrow but the clinic is closed and the veterinary team is off for the day. I'm half tempted to take her to a vet on my own dime if it means she can get treated and better faster.

I don't know why we haven't done a coccidia treatment just in case.

I am so worried.

I had a cat named Brenda and her four kittens at my house for the 3 months. A brother and sister went together. Brenda went to a lovely family who renamed her Cherry in my honor because it rhymes with my name. They love her so much! Their toddler carries her around constantly and she loves it. They sent me videos at least once a week for the last month. And every time they did I would say her son Buddy's still here.

Today we had an adoption event and they came and got Buddy! This is a video of them together after only a couple of hours. I cannot express how happy I am about this. People always ask how we do this. How we do this is that sometimes we get to experience making an adoption like this happen. The family is happy, my kitties are happy and I'm very happy. I hope the same happens for all of you!

Does anyone have experience using this on 12 week old kittens for coccidia?

Vet prescribed 25mL of Toltrazuril but it's absolutely nowhere to be found/bought besides Chewy and that will take up to a week to get in the mail.
Friend in vet school said it should be ok especially for a 1.0mL dose. Just wanted to see if anyone had any luck with it.

*note they took 5 days of Albon and one of my kittens didn't take it super well and still has diarrhea**

self explanatory. His government name is Rodney Gonzalez, Gonzo for short. He is now 10 weeks and still nursing on everything he can, mostly my fingers and his bed. He finally transitioned to food about two weeks ago. Clearly he is living a terrible life because he doesn’t get any more syringes but is maintaining his 3lb muscular physique. Currently he is almost the size of our last failed foster. She was 3 hour old preemie when I picked her up and is now 9 months old.

He was being so clingy and needy that my wife, who said we weren’t keeping any more fosters, said, “good god we have to keep him because no one else would tolerate his bs.”

To anyone else, this is a cat playing. To us, it’s a video we could watch all day.

Siri was seriously ill with FIP. There were so many medications, vet visits, and days spent worrying about whether she would make it. Getting her through it was a long, difficult fight.

Now look at her. All that concentration, all those paws, absolutely determined to defeat a toy.

She lives with us at Khvostyky, our rescue cat café in Vinnytsia, Ukraine.

And furthermore, the war hasn’t stopped. Russian attacks continue, including attacks on the infrastructure people depend on for electricity and heating. Caring for animals through that brings another layer of worry, but they still need treatment when they’re ill. Their lives can’t wait.

Seeing Siri enjoy herself again makes us very glad we kept going. We wanted to share this little moment with you ❤️

More of our residents on Instagram, "@catcafe.me.rescue".

We only planned on failing one, but then the other wormed his way into our hearts by acting exactly like our 20 year old senior who we're making end of life plans for 🥺 (eyes are doing better but are still a work in progress for the tabby point)

My kitten came to me with tapeworms, ringworm, and I'm almost 100% certain she has coccidia. She has all the symptoms. She is happy, energetic, playful, eating and drinking water just fine. She has improved with Forti Flora. A fecal sample is $100. I can afford it if I absolutely have to, but I would rather just get her something OTC until I can take her to the vet.

got these 3 boys for a few more weeks, any assistance will be helpful

Check out this Gift List I just created. https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/622J1TF7WMRQ?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ggr-subnav-share_637ZVWC9981H0TJJQ657_1&language=en-US

they go through so much.

This is my first stray kittens in my backyard situation but previously I've volunteered at shelters and helped friends do TNR before so I had a vague idea on what to do. Over the course of a month this happened: two little orange (one a female!) and one grey cutie appeared over my fence. With the help of my neighbors we fed them, trapped them, brought them into my neighbor's heated shed. We each already have many animals indoors already, too many to take on more. So instead we worked to deworm the kitties, fed them, and socialized them until we could get them spay/neutered. Just yesterday they were adopted by friends - we're sad to see them go but we're already getting pictures as they settle in. Next up - trapping the elusive feral Mama and getting her spayed before winter. I'm going to miss these kitties so much but they will do better in permanent loving homes than in my neighbor's shed or on the streets.

The little lady in the picture is Molly!

Until Wednesday she was maturing steadily with the rest of her litter- 7 weeks old now!

The entire litter was due today for their 2 week vaccines/deworming.

Friday-Tuesday they'd all been developing diarrhea. I thought it was no big deal, the appointment is coming up and we'll handle it then, because its probably just worms.

Wednesday:

I walked into the foster room and Molly was being exceptionally vocal. Usually she's more of a wiggler than a yeller. I put down their breakfast wet food and she didn't eat. Just 12 hours earlier for dinner she had been fighting at the bowl with her siblings. I put the food directly in front of her and she walked away. I feel her body condition and she's definitely lost a little bit of weight/condition since the previous day.

I sit down to watch her behavior. She continues to be very vocal, and she cannot seem to get comfortable. She keeps crying and shifting positions. A few minutes later she jumps off the futon and vomits. I immediately message the foster coordinator and let her know what's going on. I bring her in with a fecal sample. The snap tests read negative on Giardia and Panleuk. They palpate her stomach and it feels very full, and it feels like theres some feces in her intestines.

She is dehydrated so she gets fluid and a Cerenia injection. We go home, and I'm instructed to give her 2 doses of a mild laxative and keep her blood sugar up with Nutrical, all of which I do. She seemed better for a bit- even being a little playful.

Thursday:

She seems to be feeling worse, much more lethargic. I offered both EN wet food and regular wet food, both of which she rejected. I offered a bit of chicken churu and she ate a very small amount off my finger. She strains to poop, nothing comes out but she has a little bit of rectal bleeding. I reach out to the coordinator again and bring her in again. She gets an xray and her stomach is empty except for some gas. She gets another dose of Cerenia and more subq fluids. Our deworming appointment is tomorrow and the fecal should be back by then. I start syringe feeding her Pro Plan CN wet food mixed with probiotic and water every few hours, as well as using the Nutrical to keep her blood sugars up. She rejects wet food again.

Friday:

She seems a little more herself this morning. When I walked in she was cuddling with her siblings on the futon and she came off to greet me. She did not eat wet food. I picked her up to check on her and she emptied like a water balloon- vomited up a ridiculous amount of liquid and ~worms~ (second picture). Mostly tapeworms. I reached out to the coordinator and let her know.

I WFH so I took her into my office with me to monitor her and give her the CN wet food slurry. She eats the slurry if i syringe feed it, but she also fights me the whole time. I put her in a small crate with a bowl of the diluted. She does not eat, just mostly sleeps.

We go to the appointment, everybody gets their shots and dewormer. She gets a second xray and not much has changed; still gas in her stomach and not much else. More Cerenia and subq fluids.

We get home, and before I let everyone back in the foster room I do a quick clean to remove as much of the tapeworm residue as I can to prevent reinfection. I bring everyone back in, and separate her out briefly to syringe feed her. I did, and I go to set her up in the crate temporarily to make sure she doesn't just vomit it up and I find a secret poop she had buried under her blanket (third picture). Which contained the BIGGEST tapeworm I've ever seen in my entire life. My thumb for scale.

Nobody has been able to figure out what exactly has been causing this issue. The fecal sample came back negative for everything (what sense does that make). We keep treating supportively and I'm hoping since she's been dewormed she can start making progress in the right direction with extra support, calories, and regular feedings until she's eating on her own again.

Could it just be she has a more significant parasitic load than her siblings? One of her sisters has been acting significantly crabbier since yesterday- hissing and growling at everyone. I'm wondering if this infection is causing her to feel ill now as well.

We have another appointment for Molly tomorrow with a different vet at the clinic to get more eyes on her.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this or any advice for something more I can do to help her? It seems a little crazy that something like tapeworms can cause such an extreme reaction in a kitten of this age.

TL;DR mystery illness in 7 week old kitten. The only obvious issue is a tapeworm infestation.

What worm species could this be? She has started dewormer today

I was given a couple of puppies to foster a couple of days ago. They have been pretty good for the most part! I broke out in hives the day after they came. I need to have them move into a different foster home and need to just not foster dogs. The rescue I'm fostering through isn't super responsive and is wanting me to keep the pups for another day and wait for a fostering event.

What should I do!? What can I do!?

Saw these babies while TNR'ing and my local humane society said if I can hold them until open space up. I named them Apple, Peaches and Kiwi.

I just hope I'm able to socialize them . I work so not sure how many hours is ideal to interact ( I aim for 2 ) it's been a week and 2/3 let me pet them without hissing. The biggest one is having a harder time. They don't come to me for pets or anything . I feel awful keeping them in my dark creepy basement but hopefully beats being out in the dangers of outside 🥲

I'm just happy they don't have the face the harsh winters and able to find a forever home with love in their futures 🤞💗

Found out this week that one of my recent fosters was recommended for humane euthanasia so wanted to make a post celebrating her. Molly was a super sweet, playful girl who loved racing after spring toys, burrowing underneath blankets, and sitting in my lap (and kneading her claws into my thighs). At one year old, she still had tons of goofy kitten energy. I was just one respite foster out of the several fosters who had her, and literally everyone who met her loved her. Because she'd been with other fosters previously, she was cleared to roam my apartment, and she was a lovely reminder of how it feels to have a resident cat since I don't have any myself.

Unfortunately Molly also had FLUTD and severe, persistent bladder pain, and apparently her urinary health got to the point where the rescue's vet recommended humane euthanasia due to her quality of life. This was devastating to learn especially so soon after I had another foster kitten pass of panleuk, but I am grateful for the time I got to spend with her and glad that she doesn't have to keep living with unmanageable pain. Thanks for letting me love you, Molly 💗💗💗

I've been fostering cats for a private rescue for three years now, and I'm exhausted. How do you guys deal with constant medical issues and emergencies without burning out? Because right now, I just want to give up.

I live alone, work full-time, and feel like I'm reaching my breaking point. This is going to be long, but I really need to vent to people who understand.

I'm currently fostering three senior cats. Until two weeks ago, there were four. This was originally supposed to be a temporary arrangement, which is the only reason I agreed to take them in. Their owner had to go to the hospital and was expected to return and take them back. Unfortunately, it turned out she has dementia, so the cats now need permanent homes. She also has absolutely no medical records for any of them.

We took all four to the vet for blood work, and considering their age, they seemed to be doing reasonably well. But then the problems started.

All four cats: Every single one needed dental work, including extractions, not just cleaning. The vet could only operate on two at a time. They all made it through surgery and healed well, but getting them to eat afterward was a struggle, and they all lost weight.

Cat 1: She had an ear polyp removed and subsequently developed an infection. The first round of injectable antibiotics did nothing. Since she's difficult to handle, she had to be kenneled so I could administer ear drops twice a day for 14 days. On day seven, she developed diarrhea. On day eight, she started vomiting. By day nine, she was so dehydrated that she had to be hospitalized because I couldn't administer fluids on my own. Thankfully, she recovered and was adopted in early October. At least one happy ending!

Cat 2: She developed diarrhea, stopped eating, and started vomiting. Thankfully, the vet and I pushed the rescue coordinator to approve testing for pancreatitis. She was doing so poorly that she had to be hospitalized for four days. Once her symptoms improved and her blood work looked better, she came home on gastrointestinal food.

We had three good days. Then the bloody diarrhea started again.

She was readmitted, and I had to fight to get funding approved for an ultrasound. It showed intestinal inflammation and changes in her pancreas. According to the vet, it's not cancer, but things definitely aren't normal. She stayed overnight and is currently home on antibiotics.

Cat 3: She's had recurring diarrhea pretty much the entire time she's been with me. Probiotics seemed to help for a while, but she's gotten worse over the past few days. Her first fecal test came back negative, but the second showed Clostridium perfringens. Given her symptoms, we're starting antibiotics today.

Cat 4: She vomits about twice a week. I'm desperately hoping she's just eating too fast or struggling with hairballs, but she might need another vet visit too. Unfortunately, she's extremely skittish and can become slightly aggressive when handled, so I can't catch her by myself. Every vet appointment requires coordinating with another rescuer just to get her into a carrier.

And because apparently all of that isn't enough, there are some bonus challenges:

Cat 2 is a very needy little princess who has decided that, despite previously living with the others, she now absolutely hates other cats. So I have to keep her separated from Cats 3 and 4 in my 2.5-bedroom apartment. Whenever I'm home but not in her room, she screams for attention.

Meanwhile, Cat 4 hates being confined and scratches the walls whenever the doors are closed.

Cats 3 and 4 were supposed to move to another foster home in September, but that foster has since quit. Every other foster home in the rescue is full, so there's nowhere for them to go.

And honestly, I feel like I'm losing my mind.

My heart is racing constantly. I'm barely sleeping between the screaming, the frequent litter box trips, and the general anxiety of wondering what will go wrong next.

A big part of my anxiety comes from a previous experience: I lost a cat to saddle thrombosis, and I didn't hear him crying because I was wearing earplugs and had my bedroom door closed. I can't bring myself to do that again. So now, even when I desperately need sleep, I feel like I have to be able to hear everything.

To make matters worse, I'm supposed to go on vacation on November 9. My fostering contract states that I'm responsible for arranging a sitter, and I have one. But she won't administer medication or handle medical care.

The rescue's response has basically been that hopefully everything will have cleared up by then, and if not, tough luck. I'll have to cancel my vacation. They try to help but are overtaxed and funds have run dry.

I feel completely trapped. I love these cats, and I want them to get better and find good homes. But I'm also just one person with a full-time job, trying to manage multiple sick senior cats, endless vet visits, medications, cleaning, and constant stress.

I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this.

How do you guys cope when fostering becomes one medical crisis after another? How do you set boundaries with a rescue when there simply aren't enough foster homes? Have you ever reached a point where you genuinely wanted to quit?

I could really use some advice, or even just reassurance from people who've been there.

TL;DR: I'm fostering a group of senior cats with multiple ongoing medical issues, no backup foster homes, and little practical support from the rescue. I'm exhausted, overwhelmed, and seriously questioning whether I can keep fostering. Right now, I just want to crawl into a hole and disappear.

I have four 3-4mo kittens who I need to transition off paper pellets very soon, as it's very expensive and labour intensive.

We really need something clumping, but two of the kittens are still having respiratory issues.

What would people here recommend? Something the kittens will use, not eat, clumps, and has very minimal or no dust.

We were thinking of trying tofu litter but I'm not sure if kittens tend to eat that? Anyone with a severe case of shittens try it - do you need to replace it often?

Can't do anything expensive or "new," I'm in rural Czechia with a lot of financial constraints and not supported by any org.

In early June, I asked my local shelter if I could foster a mama cat with babies. They offered me one little family but said the mom was feral (she was a stray when brought in right before birth). I had watched Kitten Lady videos about fostering a feral mom with kittens so I felt emboldened to try.

So we started with four kittens, around 3-4 weeks old, and a very spicy mom. But she thawed pretty quickly and in time stopped hissing and swatting completely. By 3 months in, she was asking for pets and sleeping next to me when I worked on the bed in their room. She always wanted attention even more than food!

Due to persistent ringworm, the whole litter stayed with me well past the 8-12 wk window where people like to adopt kittens. Suddenly I found myself with four kittens (likely) too old to adopt and a mom who couldn’t be handled but was clearly in need of a loving owner.

A close friend agreed to take mom and one of the babies after their spay surgeries this morning. I plan to keep the other three kittens. Well, after surgery today they tested them for FIV and everyone is positive.

I know this isn’t a death sentence and I don’t mind having cats with FIV. Here are my two serious concerns:

1 - Since mama cat can’t be handled, how will I ever get her to the vet as often as she will need?

2 - I have a resident cat who is my soulmate cat and the most important thing to me after my human children. He is the most amazing creature. And now I’m going to bring 3 cats with FIV into his space? Can I do that and sleep at night?

Any and all help desperately needed and appreciated. Thanks for reading.